President's Letter

Hit The Reset Button
by Mike Valentini
I had visited Ground Zero about six or seven months after that unfathomable attack on our great country. As I approached the site I had a great deal of trepidation and anxiety – not knowing what to expect. I left New York that day with an incredible feeling of pride – uplifted by the fact that instead of seeing the remnants of all that horrible devastation, what I saw was a country that was well along in the process of rebuilding. Wallow in self pity? Not here in America, folks. Grab your bootstraps , dig in and get moving. The people of this great country have a resolve that no Ayatollah, Hide-in-a-Hole-ah, mid-eastern madman can ever destroy.
Throughout 2009, as I made my rounds about the territory, I couldn’t help but notice that many people I encountered, distributor and supplier alike, had this sort of dazed and confused look on their faces. Not unlike that of a child who’s just discovered that he’s become separated from his mother at the mall. The little dear hasn’t hit the panic button quite yet but the entire western wing of the mall is about to discover just how powerful a young tyke’s lungs can be.
At SACDV Winter Showcase this past month, I noticed a distinctly different attitude among the throngs. The place was abuzz! That show at the Springfield Country Club was awesome. Great venue, great location, great conversations, great soft pretzels. All last year people seemed to be in a catatonic conundrum. Not sure what they were doing there at the show – not sure what they were looking at or looking for. Not last month. The din in that joint was decibelistically incredible (I made that word up – it made my spellcheck go into convulsions). I actually heard people laughing, cajoling, ordering samples to show customers and carrying on like they were having fun again. People were looking for ideas to present to customers. They were working on projects.
We’re back folks! Not all the way, mind you, but we are back. Just like the process in NY, we are rebuilding one girder at a time. We’ve hit the reset button. I see aggressiveness out there. I see the optimism in your faces that was awol last year – and believe me, it looks good on you.
Keep up the great attitude and continue to work hard. I think 2010 may surprise you.

Report On Jan. 26^th SACDV/NERA Winter Showcase
by Jim Harmon
Thanks to the weather, it was a perfect day for the first mid-Atlantic show of the year held at Springfield Country Club. There were 160 tables, representing over 200 lines which included many of the big players. Bag Makers donated 300 tote bags, of which we ran out of. Another 100 more were donated by exhibitor American Ad Bag at the show which gave us enough to hold the crowd over. We thank these suppliers for their generous support!

Joel Schaffer, MAS, Soundline, led a very successful presentation on global warming and current issues affecting our industry. It was attended by 42 promotional product professionals - - A great turnout!
We also thank BIC Graphic USA and Montco Pedline for their contributions in helping make the show very successful.
Thanks are also in order to these people who gave many hours:
Mike Lorah, Montco Pedline
Frank Rauch, Apex Advertising
Avery Manko, The Manko Company
Janet McMaster, Geiger
Mike Valentini, MVP Promotions and NERA Group
Michele Jennrich, Howard Miller Co. and NERA Group
Brett Hersh, Admints & Zagabor
Andy Shuman, Rockland Embroidery
Jacqui Hornberger, Geiger
Fred Snyder, Geiger
And last but no least we thank Dennis Cicceritti and Springfield Country Club whose help was fabulous.
Much interest was shown in our supplier member coupon page on our website and it is growing daily. To see the coupons, go to SACDV.ORG
From all the comments we’ve heard, it was our most successful show ever and we look forward to it again next year.

SAVE THE DATE

Monday March 15th
Free Event on Time Management
Embassy Suites Valley Forge
888 Chesterbrook Blvd.
Chesterbrook, PA

Tuesday September 14th
SACDV Fall Expo
Valley Forge Convention Center
Valley Forge, PA

Kudos Korner
A giant Thank You goes out to Chocolate Inn for donating $2000 worth of chocolate to SACDV for use in our holiday mailing.
Another giant Thank You goes out to Bic Graphic USA for donating pens to use during our Fall Expo.

Last Riddle Answer: He Weighs Meat Last Issues Riddle Winners Larry Altman – Blue Star Judy Fittipoldi – American Marketing Co., Inc. DeeDee Hassler – Wood Co Mary Ellen Nichols – Bodek and Rhodes Heidi Schulze - Upward Promotions Honorable Mentions Tom Barnett, Print Copy Design Solutions Dale Johnson Cornell, Dale B. Johnson Associates Mike Valentini, MVP Promotions Bill Greenwood, Astro-Dynamic Print & Graphic Services Mike Lorah, Montco Advertising Specialties, Inc. Fred Snyder, Geiger Dan Nelis, Promotional Products, Etc. Meryl Gerner, Simco Sportswear & Advertising Specialties Joe O’Fria Jr., Pennsylvania Promotions Christian May, Integrated Promotions David Eiskowitz, Five Thousand Forms Inc

This Issues Riddle: Many things can create one. It can be of any shape or size. It is created for various reasons, and it can shrink or grow with time. What is it?