On a night buzzing with cheer and camaraderie, Patricia Dugan, MAS, and Brittany David, MAS, both took the stage, accepting this year’s PPAI Woman of Achievement Award at a Sunday night celebration.

“What an incredibly huge honor and the icing on the cake is that I get to share this stage with Brittany,” said Dugan, beginning her remarks.

Thanking family, friends and industry peers, Dugan and David kicked off PPAI’s 2023 Women’s Leadership Conference in Eagan, Minnesota.

“I’m super grateful to be here, and I want to start with a huge congratulations to Pat. She is exquisite,” said David. After rounds of applause and standing ovations, Dugan and David reflected on the paths that led them to this award.

For almost 50 years, Dugan has worked within the promotional products industry. Today, she is the vice president of sales and marketing for BUDGETCARD. Dugan has served in dozens of Board positions within PPAI as well as Promotional Products Education Foundation chair from 2015-2017, leading the nonprofit through a defining period of change that ultimately led to it increasing scholarships to the highest dollar amount ever awarded in a single year at that time.

“This award is really about us,” said Dugan. Looking out into the crowd, Dugan said she sees a healthy blend of women at all stages of their career. She says, “We can continue building women power. This award is a roadmap to keep us focused so we know where we are going.”

PPAI Hall of Fame member Mary Ellen Sokalski, MAS, says she was “flabbergasted” that Dugan hadn’t already been recognized.

Dugan says industry women need to keep the momentum going, nominating each other for esteemed awards like PPAI’s Hall of Fame.

“1977 was the year the first person was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Today, we have 90 people who are inductees of this prestigious group. Only 11 are women,” said Dugan. “That’s a little more than 10%.”

But in the last six years, seven women has been honored. Dugan said, “What incredible motion, and we don’t want to lose that. We need to mentor women coming up, and we need to nominate deserving women who qualify for any awards, boards and committees.”

Dugan finished her remarks encouraging each woman in attendance to be their best. “I also want to say again how proud I am to be a recipient of this award,” said Dugan. She left the stage in thunderous applause.

An 18-year veteran of the promotional products industry, David is chief revenue officer for SnugZ USA. An advocate for the industry, David completed a five-year term on the PPAI Board of Directors, serving as Chair in 2019. She is a PPAI Fellow and recently, was presented with the Supplier Visionary award by A Woman’s View, an organization dedicated to supporting women in the promotional products industry, and named to one of the most influential people in the industry.

“I am so full of gratitude, and I have a happy heart,” said David. As a team player, David says solo recognition is foreign territory. “Life is a journey you just don’t do solo.”

In David’s application, nominator and PPAI Hall of Fame recipient Teresa Moisant, MAS, calls her the “jewel of the industry.” David said she met Moisant at a WLC event 14 years ago. “If it wasn’t for this event, she and I would have never met. The connections you make at WLC are so powerful.”

Speaking to the crowd, David said there is still a need for a women’s conference. She said, “I look around, and so many of you have had such an impact on me. Whether you are customers, coworkers or competitors, I feel like I leave a better person because of so many of you in this room.”

Opportunity is not a solo expedition, says David. “There’s a saying that goes: Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. You have to show up, you have to say yes, and you have to put in the hard work.”

Leaving the stage, David thanked those in the room who gave her a few of her opportunities. “Thank you for taking a chance on me. I am forever grateful. With hard work, integrity and the right opportunity, you can be unstoppable. I encourage all of you to do the same.”