Don Edwards, a promo veteran of many decades and former chair of the PPAI Board of Directors, passed away peacefully on January 22, a few weeks shy of his 94th birthday. His wife, Nerisa, was by his side in their home city of Tucson, Arizona.

  • Edwards founded the N. Donald Edwards Company in 1962 and built up its sales portfolio and reputation for years before eventually selling it to the Geiger family in 1988.
  • He served on the PPAI Board of Directors from 1974-1978 and was the Board chair in 1978. Prior to his death, he was the oldest living former chair of the Board.
  • That same year, PPAI named him “Man of the Year.”
  • Just over a decade later, in 1989, Edwards was inducted into the PPAI Hall of Fame.


“His passion in the industry was training,” says his son, John. “He was an amazing public speaker and loved to be in front of an audience to motivate, educate and inspire them, especially when the topic was selling promotional products. I know he frequently led training sessions at industry events.”

Edwards would continue to work in, volunteer with and educate people within the promotional products community after selling his first company, but perhaps his biggest impact on the industry was the part he played in moving PPAI’s headquarters from Chicago to its current location in Texas.

Seeing PPAI’s ‘Growth And Potential’ In Dallas

Even into his 90s, Edwards had a slogan that he lived by: “If it can’t be done, it interests me.”

When he joined the PPAI Board in 1974, the Association was paying high rent to be headquartered in downtown Chicago where harsh winters weren’t always conducive to employees or visitors. So, an idea was raised: What if the Association owned its own building? Figuring out where was the challenge.

Looming over all of this was the retirement of Association President Bob Rollings, who had seen the Association through mergers and successful years. Edwards and the Board were tasked to hire the replacement as PPAI also planned a celebration of its 75th year of existence.

“I was surrounded by giants in the industry, and we worked very closely together,” Edwards told PPAI Media in 2022.

RELATED: How Did PPAI End Up In Texas, Anyway?

According to Edwards, no other cities outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth area were seriously considered. The board met with economic developers from Dallas, which confirmed much of what they had believed: Dallas and its surrounding cities were primed for an economic boom. DFW International Airport had opened for commercial service in the mid-70s.

Sure enough, Dallas would come to represent (with the help of the popular television show named after it) the country’s economic prosperity in the 1980s.

A Legacy Beyond Promo

Born into humble beginnings (his family home did not have running water until he was a sophomore in high school), Edwards later served in the Korean War and used the G.I. Bill to get his bachelor’s degree and master’s in marketing.

Working and residing in both New England and Arizona over his life, Edwards served on numerous boards outside of promo, including the Ridgefield Boys Club, Village Savings Bank, the Toast Masters and the Tucson Marketing Association, among many others.

  • Perhaps his proudest moment came in 1984 when he served an 18-month term as commissioner of education and training for the White House Conference on Small Business under the Reagan administration.


Edwards is survived by his wife, Nerisa, and her son; his six children; his 12 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.