Bring a pair of comfy shoes.
That’s the universal refrain among PPAI staffers when giving advice to first-time attendees of The PPAI Expo. Especially staffers who recently attended the largest and longest-running trade show in the promotional products industry for the first time themselves.
Racking up north of 20,000 steps a day is common. After all, The PPAI Expo stretches roughly 1 million square feet in scope. If you aim to explore the nearly 2,500 booths on the show floor, let alone The Las Vegas Strip, your dogs will be barking.
Even PPAI President and CEO Drew Holmgreen, whose first week on the job coincided with The PPAI Expo 2025, will be ditching his dress shoes for Jordans this year.
“With Vegas’ bright lights and oxygen-infused casinos, you can get real confused about what time of day it is and where you are,” Holmgreen says. “Wellness is critical. Take care of yourself. Treat your body the way it needs to be treated.”
Dinner Recommendation from Drew Holmgreen: "Pronto by Giada in Caesar's Palace is great."
Behind The Scenes
Holmgreen shares that same advice with PPAI employees, who are basically on the clock from the moment they arrive at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center until the final booth is deconstructed.
Take Mark Rykojc, business development account manager. An Expo newcomer, he spent seven days in “Sin City” last year.
His responsibilities included everything from assisting all supplier members with badge registration, sponsorship activations, support with booth spaces before, during and after the show, planning post-Expo advertising campaigns and cultivating new plans and strategies for exhibiting at the following year’s Expo.
Mark Rykojc
Business Development Account Manager, PPAI
“The best part was finally getting the opportunity to meet with all of my supplier members in person and see all the hard work and planning come to life,” Rykojc says. “Zoom calls hide my 6’4” height, so seeing everyone’s reactions as I introduced myself was hilarious.”
Putting faces to names was also a highlight for Kirsten Kelley, professional development administrator. During her first Expo experience last year, she played an integral role in the success of The PPAI Expo Conference, a one-day educational event with a curated slate of experts from both within and outside the industry to enlighten promo professionals and spark conversation throughout the rest of Expo.
Tips from Kirsten Kelley: "Go into Expo with an open mind. Stay hydrated. Write a list of things you want to accomplish while you are there and then accomplish those things."
Considering it’s the biggest event of the year for the Association (and the industry as a whole), it’s no surprise that Expo is an all-hands operation. As did several of her colleagues, Kelley helped at The Pitch, during the keynote speeches and at the PPAI information booth on the show floor.
“You don’t know what questions you have until you go,” Kelley says. “I should’ve packed lighter. I can’t believe the amount of stuff I brought.”
Nicole Rhooms
HR Director, PPAI
Another Expo first-timer last year, PPAI HR Director Nicole Rhooms was blown away by the sheer size of the extravaganza. “Working the welcome booth filled my cup,” Rhooms says. “I was able to introduce myself, field questions, engage with members and just help them out.
“You’d think, ‘HR, shouldn’t you be tired of people?’ But no, I was overwhelmed and excited by how huge Expo was and how many people were there.”
And The PPAI Expo Party, which was held at Swingers Las Vegas, well, Rhooms is still raving about it. “That was the best DJ ever,” she says. “They took diversity into consideration, which is important [Rhooms sits on the PPAI DEI Task Force]. I also love that there are no shy people. Everybody was on the dance floor having a great time. It was amazing.”
Arianna Johnson, who joined the PPAI Media team as a news editor just three months before The PPAI Expo 2025, made the rookie mistake of waiting until two hours before her flight to pack. Although she left her Apple Watch on the charger at home, she remembered the most important things, like taking a breather when needed and maximizing every interaction with members.
Arianna Johnson
Content Manager, PPAI
“Walking the Expo floor was for sure the highlight of my trip,” Johnson says. “Hearing everyone talk about it beforehand was one thing, but being able to experience it and take it all in was great. Being in the middle of all the hustle and bustle was exhilarating, and interviewing smaller businesses and hearing about their stories was the cherry on top.”
Content manager Josh Storey had previously attended The PPAI Expo while working for a supplier, but last year was his first experience as part of the PPAI team. He helped prepare the keynote speeches and education sessions as well as helped produce EXPO Live interviews.
“Did I know what to expect? Yes,” Storey says. “Was I prepared thanks to my team? Of course. Is every Expo a different and unique experience that’s impossible to classify, let alone prepare for? Oh, boy, is it ever!”
Dinner Recommendation from Josh Storey: "I almost don't want to recommend this place, because it's hard enough to get reservations, but if you want the best steak you've ever had in your life, eat at Herbs and Rye. It's off the Strip. Quiet. Atmospheric. Perfect."
‘I Have A Lot To Live Up To’
Arguably nobody was busier than Holmgreen last year, as both PPAI staffers and board directors guided him along the many stops on his welcome tour.
His nine days in Vegas consisted of introductions, meetings, interviews, dinners, a controversial pickleball game (“Andrew Spellman cheats.”) and countless hugs. It all began at skucon – commonsku’s official kickoff to the year – where CEO Catherine Graham chatted with PPAI’s new leader about his professional history and expectations for his next chapter.
Drew Holmgreen
President & CEO, PPAI
As soon as Holmgreen walked into skucon, Danny Rosin, CAS, president and co-owner of Brand Fuel, PPAI 100’s No. 29 distributor, and incoming chair of the PPAI Board of Directors, laughed.
“He said, ‘Absolutely nobody in this building knows who you are, but the second you go on that stage, everything is going to change. You won’t be able to walk 10 feet without somebody grabbing you.’ And he was right,” Holmgreen says.
“But one of the things I love about this industry is that there’s very few people who want to be combative. Instead, everybody wants to share constructive opinions.”
The one that Holmgreen still appreciates is a suggestion from Josh Ellis, publisher and editor-in-chief at PPAI, to nix “drinking from the fire hose” from his speech on the first morning of Expo because it was during the Los Angeles wildfires. That kind of coaching was especially helpful as Holmgreen ingratiated himself with members while still being on the payroll for his previous employer, events trade association Meeting Professionals International.
In fact, he was answering emails for MPI right before walking on stage to address the Expo audience. “I was listening to Spellman’s kind words of introduction about me and thought, damn, I have a lot to live up to if that’s actually me,” Holmgreen says.
Tip from Mark Rykojc: "Stay hydrated and I highly encourage everyone to enjoy The PPAI Expo/Mandalay Bay/Vegas with a spontaneous mindset for networking. Some of the best conversations and contacts you’ll make are outside the show floor!"
It’s A Family Affair
Although any staffer can attest that working The PPAI Expo is indeed hard work, telling their family and friends that they must spend several days at the “Entertainment Capital of the World” often draws oohs, ahs and envy.
“My daughters weren’t happy that I was gone for about five days, and my husband said, ‘Take me with you,’” Rhooms says.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s parents were excited for her. “I had never gambled before, so my mom and stepdad wanted me to hit big. Spoiler alert: I did not,” she says.
Rykojc’s family enjoyed seeing all his photos and videos of the cool products and trade show booths, perhaps none more so than that of New York-based supplier MacKenzie-Childs.
“In Rochester, MacKenzie-Childs is a very popular regional brand that my mother and all mothers in Upstate New York are obsessed with,” Rykojc says. “I sent my mom a photo of me at their booth that I helped them secure as a first-time exhibitor and I’m sure she went online and spent hundreds on new checkered home décor right after.”
While The PPAI Expo is certainly an adrenaline rush, it can also be hard for staffers to be away from their families for so long. As a single mom with two kids, Kelley had to ask her mom to take off of work for the week so she could care for the children.
“I was very blessed and grateful she did that,” Kelley says. “Seven days was definitely a long time to be away from family, but it was worth it.”
Holmgreen empathizes. His breakneck schedule didn’t slow down after Expo – it only sped up. He’s spent more than half of 2025 on the road visiting members and learning as much about the industry as possible. It was to be expected when he accepted the position, but that hasn’t made the grind any easier.
“Associations are so relationship oriented,” Holmgreen says. “It requires a good knowledge of the industry and an exceptionally good knowledge of its people. My wife travels quite a bit for work, too, so it’s been a struggle, but we’ve made it work for our son.”
Tip from Arianna Johnson: "If you feel your social battery dying, please step away and get some alone time to recharge."
We’re All In This Together
Now that they know what to expect, these PPAI teammates are more prepared for the marathon of Expo week.
Kelley plans to hang out more with her colleagues, especially at The PPAI Expo Party. Storey aims to improve and continue evolving the professional development offerings. Johnson has now joined their team in a new role – content manager – so she’s interested to see what will be different this year. Meanwhile, it’ll be a familiar tune for Rykojc, who’s eager to reconnect with supplier members and get the opportunity to meet new ones in person.
“Going to Expo always feels like coming back to your hometown after being away for your first year of college,” Storey says. “You get to see your old friends, tread your old stomping grounds, eat at your favorite restaurants and get excited for what the next year is going to bring.”
Josh Storey
Content Manager, PPAI
Holmgreen can’t wait to return to the stage, this time to unveil PPAI’s five-year strategic plan. It’s been another all-hands effort as the Association develops a long-term strategy for elevating branded merchandise in the marketing world.
“What I love about our team is that we’re looking to make every experience better year over year,” Holmgreen says. “Small shifts, small additions. New lounges. A pilot match program we’re developing. I’m excited about the team learnings and deliberate observations that are going to take place on site this year to make a marked impact on 2027.”
For making it this far, you get this candid shot of Elizabeth Wimbush, CAS, PPAI's director of responsibility and sustainability [left] and JGR, MAS, MBA, PPAI’s senior manager of professional development, rocking out to Alanis Morissette.
The success of The PPAI Expo is a result of it being a team effort. Planning begins more than a year in advance and involves budgeting, research, show floor layout, room assignments, content decisions and much more. During the event, staffers help attendees with registration and directions, answer all sorts of questions and ensure both exhibitor and visitor needs are met.
While all of this is happening, there are employees back in the office or working from home who are handling their regularly scheduled duties, such as sending out Newslink, overseeing IT applications and assisting promo pros who couldn’t make it to Vegas.
Kirsten Kelley
Professional Development Administrator, PPAI
Regardless of where the PPAI teammates are stationed (Promo & Pints, if they’re lucky), they’re all contributing to the mission – serving our members.
“While everyone has their own individual roles and responsibilities, we all jump in where we need to,” Kelley says. “There are a lot of things you can plan for, but the things that require the most attention and care are the situations that arise that we weren’t prepared for. Sometimes when you try to be too organized, you set too high of an expectation.
“Being prepared but having a slight ‘go with the flow’ energy is what’s needed.”
Register Now
Don’t wait any longer – register and book your trip to The PPAI Expo 2026 right now.
PPAI member distributors may have their registration fees waived based on their membership tier. It’s $50 per person for additional registrants.
Qualified non-member distributors may access the exhibits and conference for $350 per person. Members of industry regional associations but not PPAI can receive a code from their executive director for a discounted rate.
Suppliers and business services providers who are members but not exhibiting will be charged $750 per person for access to the exhibit hall but may attend The PPAI Expo Conference for no additional cost.
Non-member, non-exhibiting suppliers/business services providers are not permitted to attend The PPAI Expo.
