Koozie Group (PPAI 114187, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 11 supplier, has welcomed a second sponsored litter of puppies with 4 Paws for Ability and demonstrated continued support through a $10,000 donation. This brings Koozie Group’s total contributions to more than $64,000 since 2022.

• The newest litter, The Promo Pups, was born on January 13.
• Eight puppies, two girls and six boys, are already in training: Marilyn, Kai, Viking, Olympus, Gary, Chiller, Champ, and Scout.
• Most of the puppies are named after Koozie Group products or services. Gary and Marilyn honor Garyline founder Gary Hellinger and his wife.
• Three dogs from the company’s first sponsored litter have graduated and are now making a meaningful difference in their partners’ lives.

“These eight puppies and our active service dog teams are living proof of what sustained commitment can accomplish,” says Pierre Montaubin, CEO of Koozie Group. “Knowing that graduates from our first sponsored litter are now changing lives makes this second sponsorship even more meaningful. We’re incredibly proud to be part of 4 Paws for Ability’s mission.”

commonsku (PPAI 552077), a promotional products business and sales software, recognized five skummunity award winners for their outstanding contributions to the branded merchandise industry.

The Distributor Community Champion Award winner was Tony McNally, operations manager at Vanguard Promotions.

The Supplier Connected Workflow Award was awarded to SanMar.

The Shops Innovation Leader Award was awarded to Mark Mccormack at Identity Marketing Group.

The Supplier Community Champion Award was awarded to Sara Thompson, marketing and communications specialist at Ariel Premium Supply.

The Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year award was awarded to Caleb Gilbertson, CEO and co-founder of Imprint Engine.

Edwards Garment (PPAI 198530, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 19 supplier, has added two sales professionals to represent both Edwards stock apparel based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and EdwardsX full custom apparel based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Elise Cochran is joining Edwards to represent the company in the Southeast United States (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina).

“We are thrilled to welcome Elise to the Edwards team,” says Chip Danby, vice president of sales – uniform and custom. “With her experience in sales and merchandising, she brings valuable expertise that supports our apparel program business, which remains at the core of Edwards. I’m excited to see Elise thrive in this role as she helps expand our presence in the Southeast.”

Representing Edwards in their home state of Michigan as well as in Indiana will be Jared Caron.

“We’re excited to welcome Jared to the Edwards team,” Danby says. “Jared brings a strong sales background along with extensive experience with industrial laundry and uniform programs. We look forward to his leadership as he takes over the Michigan and Indiana territory and continues building Edwards’ presence in the region.”

Gemline (PPAI 113948, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 13 supplier, recently donated more than 700 blankets to Lazarus House.

Located in Lawrence, Massachusetts – the same community as Gemline’s corporate headquarters – Lazarus House provides food, shelter and clothing to individuals and families in need.

“Lawrence is our home, and when our neighbors need support, we have a responsibility to step forward,” says Saadia Bryant, vice president of marketing, product and design at Gemline. “We are proud to partner with Lazarus House to help strengthen the community that has given so much to us.”

Vantage Apparel (PPAI 113235, Platinum), PPAI 100’s No. 14 supplier, and PromoLink (PPAI 799562) have announced the next phase of their ongoing relationship with the launch of a new integration designed to automate how distributors send decorated orders from their e-commerce platforms directly into Vantage.

The PromoLink–Vantage integration provides distributors with a documented workflow that automatically ingests orders from supported e-commerce platforms, validates order data and generates Purchase Orders for Vantage.

“This announcement represents a meaningful evolution of our partnership with Vantage,” says Robert Guler, president of PromoLink. “We’re now delivering a real, production-ready integration that distributors can use to automate order flow into Vantage, reduce operational friction, and run decorated programs with greater confidence and consistency.”

The solution supports order ingestion from platforms including Propago, OrderMyGear, BrightStores, InkSoft, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and PromoLink StoreFront.

“This partnership gives distributors a seamless way to integrate directly with Vantage through PromoStandards, lowering the barrier to entry for system-to-system integration,” says Chris Alfano, chief information and digital officer at Vantage Apparel. “By partnering with PromoLink, we’re making it easier to automate order flow, improve data accuracy and scale their business with confidence.”