MiPPA President-Elect, Jane Mitchell, MAS, served as one of L.E.A.D. Lansing’s morning speakers.

The Michigan Promotional Professionals Association (MiPPA) hosted a Legislative Education And Action Day (L.E.A.D.) in the state’s capital of Lansing on March 30. The meeting featured a breakfast for state legislators and their staff in the Mackinac Room in the Anderson House of Representatives Building. The event drew 38 state representatives, senators and their staff members.

MiPPA President-Elect, Jane Mitchell, MAS, owner of distributor Jungle Jane Promotions organized the event with assistance from the regional association’s past president, Dave DeWitt of distributor Advanced Marketing Partners. MiPPA members were encouraged to email and call their representatives to invite them to attend.

L.E.A.D. Lansing’s schedule included presentations from Mary Jo Tomasini, MAS, president of distributor Competitive Edge, LLC and chair of the PPAI Board of Directors, who provided an industry overview and explained the power of promotional products, and Mitchell, who shared the impact of the industry on Michigan’s economy. They urged legislators to be aware of the effect of regulations on small business, and of the importance of good education, good transportation and a fair tax policy to the continued success and contributions of entrepreneurs.

“The lawmakers were impressed with the presentations and expressed their appreciation for the education efforts,” says MiPPA Executive Director Paul Kiewiet, MAS+. “Our attending members were able to have specific conversations with members of the House Committee on Commerce and Trade, Financial Services, Tax Policy, and Workforce and Talent Development specific to the concerns of our members.”

After the breakfast meeting, MiPPA volunteers including Director Patrick Kelleher, Headfirst Printing; Director and RAC Delegate Valerie Hayman Sklar, CAS, Corporate Specialties LLC; Cindy Wright, Onara; John Andersen, Showdown Display; and Kelly O’Brien, Heritage Sportswear, delivered literature and product samples produced by Michigan-based supplier companies to individual representative offices.