Business Services

ComplyBox (UPIC: L678943)—Leeton Lee, principal

Distributors

AIA Corporation (UPIC: advinadv)—Matthew T. Gresge, chief executive officer

Sonic Promos (UPIC: sonicpro)—Jay Shaplin, senior brand manager and vendor relations manager

Suppliers

BAG MAKERS, Inc. (UPIC: BAGMAKRS)—Nancy Bercovitz, regional business development manager in the Northeast region—Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island

Ennis, Inc. (UPIC: Ennis)—Wade Brewer, Steve Reifel and Kevin Johnston, promoted to business unit directors

Evans Manufacturing (UPIC: EVANS)—Tessa Trumble, upper Midwest senior account manager covering Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin

Heritage Sportswear (UPIC: HERI0002)—Kelly O’Brien, MAS, to manage accounts in Michigan and Northwest Ohio; and Courtney Doyle Vokovich, to manage accounts in Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida

Imagen Brands, parent company of suppliers Crown Products (UPIC: CROWNPRO) and Vitronic (UPIC: ACHIEVER)—Jenny Staub, promoted to senior director of marketing and product development

PWS (UPIC: pws)—John Short, Midwest/South regional sales manager

Spector & Co. (UPIC: SPEC0038)—Shashi Singam, director of digital media

Stahls’ (UPIC: STAH0001)—Carleen Gray, promoted to vice president of commercial sales and marketing; Jason Ziga, promoted to vice president, screen print transfer technology; Jennifer Joseph, promoted to vice president of U.S. regional sales; and Greg Peirce, promoted to vice president, chief technology officer

Sterling Cut Glass (UPIC: STERL881)—Mike Sellers, director of sales.

Storm Creek (UPIC: StormCrk)—Sandy Nichols, MAS, national/key account sales role

World Emblem (UPIC: WORLP003)—Paola Soler, promoted to territory account managers for the Southeast region; and Jorge Saez, promoted to territory account manager for the Northeast region

In Memoriam: John Barrett

John Barrett, a sales executive for Denver, Colorado-based distributor Specialty Incentives, passed away at his home on October 5. He was 62.

Born in Golden, Colorado, Barrett was the second-generation owner and operator of distributor L.W. Barrett Company. Specialty Incentives acquired L.W. Barrett in 2010.

Barrett is survived by his former wife Connie Barrett; daughter Mindy Levens and her husband Hans; son Aaron and his wife Kiley; two half-sisters, four grandchildren, two nieces, two nephews and five cousins.

A memorial service for Barrett was held at Tabor-Rice Funeral Home in Brighton, Colorado.

In Memoriam: Graham Bennington

Graham Bennington, former CEO of BemroseBooth in Hull, UK, passed away on October 20 after a short battle with cancer. He was 66.

Bennington joined what was then known as the Bemrose Corporation in 1977. Over the years he held a number of positions within the company before becoming CEO in 2000.

Martin Varley, CEO of industry business services provider Customer Focus, credits Bennington for getting him into the promotional products industry. In a LinkedIn post he writes, “He was so talented as a business leader it was impossible to hold him in anything but the highest of esteems, he was an expert negotiator, HR guru (he called it personnel) and leader. He took a company that was just a supplier of car park and rail tickets to the number one company for promo products in the world. He knew when to invest and when to divest, he shared his skills widely, encouraged enthusiastically, and every now and again very elegantly gave you that look and you knew you had not quite done your best.

“He supported me when I didn’t deserve it, he had my back, front and side and we laughed and we laughed and we laughed.”

Bennington passed away at the Butterfly Hospice in Boston, Lincolnshire. He is survived by his wife Sandie, and children Suzy and Ian.

In Memoriam: Marcy Lazarus

Marcy Lazarus, president of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based distributor Promotional Breezes (UPIC: breezes), passed away on September 27 in Boynton Beach. She was 64.

While Lazarus’ career began in special education, her husband, Bill, introduced her to the promotional products industry. They worked together at Promotional Images in Emerson, New Jersey, which Bill started in 1985. He sold the company to Allied Office Products in 1999. They returned to the industry in 2004 with the launch of Promotional Breezes.

“She was very supportive of my father,” says her son, Steven Lazarus, MAS, who has been running the company for the past three years. He says his mother will be remembered for her pink lipstick, sweet and sour meatballs, and her passion for bringing people of different backgrounds together.

At Lazarus’ funeral on September 29, about 600 people came to pay their respects. Steven adds, “She was very, very loved.”

Lazarus is survived by her husband Bill; her son Steven and daughter Alli; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Jayne and Ed Hollander; her nieces, cousins and many friends.

Memorial contributions honoring Lazarus can be made to the American Heart Association, 2300 Centrepark West Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409 or Temple Sinai of Palm Beach County, 2475 W. Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33445.