Promotional Products Professionals of Canada (PPPC) recently held its annual National Convention at the International Centre in Toronto. Distributors and suppliers from across the country gathered to network, showcase new products and honor their peers.

Carol De Ville of The Branding Company was inducted into the PPPC Hall of Fame, while Ken Dumond of Genumark Strategic Merchandising (asi/204588) received the 2016 Humanitarian Award during the PPPC National Convention in Toronto, held from Feb. 10-14.

At the 2017 Image Awards Gala on February 12, Carol De Ville, president of Brantford, ON-based The Branding Company, was the 33^rd member to be inducted into the PPPC Hall of Fame, while Ken Dumond, vice president of business development for Toronto-based Genumark Strategic Merchandising (asi/204588), was presented with the 2016 Humanitarian Award after being nominated by Genumark COO David Lewenberg. Genumark was also named Distributor of the Year, while Debco (asi/48885) was named Supplier of the Year.

“More than any other year, there was a younger vibe at the show,” said Chris Sinclair, vice president of Brand Blvd (asi/145124), which was named this year’s Best Mid-Sized Distributor for the Central Region. “It’s refreshing and very exciting from an industry standpoint. The level of professionalism is rising, and we think it’s awesome. The better the competition, the better we all have to be to succeed.”

Celebrating her 25^th year in the promotional products industry, De Ville, formerly the chair of the PPPC Board from 2011-2012, was chosen as the 2016 Hall of Fame inductee after a rigorous selection process, including a peer nomination, several letters of recommendation and a tiered scoring system.

“One of the most gracious aspects of being recognized was all the people, including my parents, family, team members, friends and all my industry colleagues, coming up to me and sharing how they never realized all the things I do and yet still make time for them,” De Ville told Promogram Canada. “That brought so many smiles to my face.”

While basking in the spotlight, DeVille remains focused on continuing her and her company’s success in 2017. “The Branding Company continues to increase its client share, geographical presence and ability to service domestic, national and international clients,” she said. “The key to our business growth is developing custom client promotional solutions and taking projects to the next level. We’re not just selling a promotional product, we’re creating sustainable and measurable marketing solutions.”

Humanitarian Award recipient Dumond has 28 years of experience working with a variety of charities, including as a hospital and at-risk youth volunteer, president of the board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Barrie, coach for high school curling teams, and educator and mentor for college students in Advertising & Marketing. His commitment to giving back began after he was a patient in a rehab hospital for nine months almost 30 years ago. It was then that he realized the impact that hospital volunteers had on his recovery.

“Without them to take us new paraplegics and quadriplegics out to sports or shopping, our recovery would have been very different,” he told Promogram Canada. “This is certainly a very humbling award. I’ve volunteered and served in the hopes of making a difference for my community, never for any accolades. The truth is, I sincerely enjoy helping others to achieve their dreams and I enjoy mentoring youth to believe that anything that they choose to do can be accomplished.”

In addition, Stephanie Bouchez, inside sales representative for Canada at BIC Graphic (asi/40480), received a Momentum Award for her forward-thinking creativity and innovation. “To receive this award is a great honor,” Bouchez told Promogram Canada. “It’s not only recognition for past results, but also, most of all, a step toward and motivation for the future. It’s also another proof of strong teamwork and our essential partnership with customers.” BIC Graphic also received the Silver Award in the Most Creative New Promotional Product Category for its Canada! 150 Years Calendar.

Debco also won big during the National Convention awards ceremony: The Concord, ON-based supplier received nine awards, including Gold in the Supplier of the Year category for the third consecutive year, while sales rep Cindy Puritt received Gold for Supplier Sales Rep of the Year and Patricia Ortiz, SGR magazine’s runner-up Customer Service Rep of the Year in 2015, won Gold for Supplier Customer Service Rep of the Year.

“The customer-centric culture so ingrained in our daily life is exemplified by our winning the Supplier of the Year category for 20 of the past 22 years,” Stan Gallen, senior vice president of sales & marketing for Debco, told Promogram Canada. “This type of staying power despite a number of staffing changes along the way solidifies upper management’s belief that the corporate culture is companywide, from accounting, artwork and warehousing, to the print shop, marketing and customer service.”

View the entire list of Image Award winners here.