PPPC has good news to report and many new endeavors coming your way this year. The organization has turned over a new leaf and is on an upward trek to financial stability. During the 2019 fiscal year, ending on October 31, 2019, PPPC generated its first profitable annual financial statement since 2015. The small surplus of $37,412 was possible due to strict expense controls and accelerated revenue growth; both Natcon 2019 and the four-city TOPS+ tour exceeded projected revenues. PPPC also experienced success with the Women’s Empowerment Event (WEE), many chapter and member events and with its participation at The PPAI Expo 2019. 

Compared to PPPC’s financial loss of $592,980 in 2018, it is safe to say that the future of PPPC is looking brighter than ever. The Board of Directors is excited to see that the difficult decisions and changes made over the past two years are starting to pay off and they are eager to see what the 2020 fiscal year will bring. This dramatic financial improvement is further propelling us to strive to be the best and to continue to look toward the future. Thank you to all our members, stakeholders and board members for their continued support; we hope we exceed your expectations in 2020.

Members can look forward to a few more changes and exciting initiatives and programs to be launched throughout 2020. To start, PPPC will be promoting and encouraging members to participate in PPAI’s Promotional Products Work! Week (PPW! Week), an industry-wide event taking place across the United States from May 4-8, 2020. PPPC is encouraging its Canadian members to partake and will be sharing details with members by email.

This year, PPPC will be promoting the week, encouraging participation and sharing your experiences on social platforms. We are eager to see how our members will get involved. PPPC has plans to develop our own strategy for 2021 and expand the week into Canada if members show enthusiasm for the 2020 promotions. We encourage Canadian members to review the PPW! Week website and toolkit at https://ppai.org/advocacy/promotional-products-work-week to find out how to help celebrate the power of promotional products.

Manitoba members can also look forward to the addition of a chapter in their province this year. PPPC is very excited about this project since the head office is in Winnipeg, which means that a variety of staff will have the opportunity to attend Manitoba Chapter events and get to know the members on a new level. Keep an eye out for more information about this soon.

On top of the many new endeavors that PPPC will be undertaking in 2020, mark your calendars now for the Women’s Empowerment Event on May 29-30 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and Natcon 2020 on September 14-17 at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Our staff looks forward to seeing you over the course of the year.

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Jonathan Strauss is the president and CEO of the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC).