The Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) inducted four long-time industry leaders into its inaugural IMA Hall of Fame at its recent annual Summit in Orlando, Florida—Greg Canose, George Delta, the late George Kling and the late Karen Renk.
During his presidency last year, Spencer Toomey, vice president of Revo Sunglasses, and now IMA past president, described the idea for the IMA Hall of Fame, saying, “I felt it was important to be able to honor the people whose vision and dedication fostered the growth of the incentive industry. They were true leaders who for many years introduced people to the incentive industry where they discovered they could have successful careers.”
With more than 35 years of experience in the incentive industry, the IMA welcomed Canose into its Hall of Fame for his role as a mentor and leader to many in the industry, and the consistent and important contributions he has made to the IMA since its inception, including serving as the first president of the IMA Board of Directors. Canose has been an active member of both the Incentive Manufacturers Representatives Alliance (IMRA) and the IMA. He was also instrumental in the formation of the IMRA Strategic Industry Group within the IMA.
A co-founder and general counsel of the Incentive Federation Inc., Delta monitors federal and state legislation and he works diligently for the best interests of the industry. His accomplishments include his work to avert an industry disaster when OSHA stated its proposed ergonomics rule that safety incentives do not work and lead to under-reporting of injuries, and his extensive work on the protection of I.R.S. Code 274(j). Delta has been active in the incentive industry for more than 20 years. He received the IMA President’s Award in 2013 and currently serves on the Board of the Incentive Research Foundation.
Kling, who passed away in 2013, spent more than 50 years in the incentive industry and is known for having helped many people and brands get their start, and for bridging the gap between promotional and premium products. Kling taught distributors how to sell incentives and showed brands how to sell to the promotional products market. He emphasized collaboration and the opportunities it brought for all involved. Kling was a past president of the Association of Incentive Marketing, a precursor to the IMA. He was a member and advisor of many state and regional incentive and promotional product associations and organizations. Kling received the Marvin Spike Lifetime Achievement Award from the Advertising Specialty Institute.
More than 18 years ago, Renk had a vision of what was needed for the incentive industry to move forward—an association that encompassed all aspects of the industry and would deliver a united message to the corporate world. To realize this vision, she helped create the IMA. Before forming the IMA, she served as the executive director for the Incentive Manufacturers Representatives Alliance (IMRA), now a Strategic Industry Group within the IMA. Renk was valued for her support of IMA members and their careers as well as championing the growth of IMA and the incentive industry. Renk passed away in 2014.