With keynote speakers and roundtable discussions at PPAI’s North American Leadership Conference hitting on so many topics shaping the branded merchandise industry right now, every conversation felt relevant and thought-provoking to first-time attendee Dennis Oglesby, MAS.

“For my first PPAI event aside from The PPAI Expo after 22 years in the industry, I was thoroughly impressed by the experience and the content,” says Oglesby, director of promotional products at GO2 Partners (PPAI 240324, Gold), PPAI 100’s No. 47 distributor.  

“It can be quite daunting to dive into a room full of executives leading the top suppliers and distributors, but the PPAI Board of Directors, particularly Kara Keister [Regional Relations Committee delegate], were more than welcoming and willing to assist in settling the initial nerves.”

Don’t Miss A Thing: SUBSCRIBE To PPAI Newslink

A member of both the Tri-State Promotional Professionals Association and Promotional Products Association Midwest, Oglesby attended NALC 2026 after receiving the PPAI Regional Scholarship, which covered up to $2,500 for event registration, hotel costs and airfare costs for any of PPAI’s events.

Sharing Lessons With Colleagues

Oglesby enjoyed sessions from Tyler Shultz, the man most responsible for bringing down health technology company Theranos, and Henry Coutinho-Mason, one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer trends.

“I’m excited to share with regional members the direction of the industry that’s being governed by the trends we’re seeing in the world right now,” Oglesby says. “The importance of effective use of AI as well as the focus on pushing branded merchandise further into the forefront of marketing efforts were critical takeaways.”

Anyone who is looking to gain a better understanding of the direction of the branded merchandise industry… would be well served in attending NALC.”

Dennis Oglesby, MAS

Director of Promotional Products, GO2 Partners

The industry veteran wasted no time in relaying the lessons he learned at NALC 2026.

“I’ve already begun sharing with colleagues the vital information we learned about the current and ‘real’ state of our economy based on the factual evidence presented to us at NALC,” Oglesby says, “as well as the need to adopt business practices to be more in line with the direction governed by the extended use of social media and AI.”

If you’re on the fence about attending next year’s NALC, Oglesby suggests you mark your calendar now for next May.

“Anyone who is looking to gain a better understanding of the direction of the branded merchandise industry as a whole or looking to learn from others’ best practices would be well served in attending NALC,” Oglesby says. “Not only is it full of important content, it also provides the opportunity for important networking and an overall good time!”