Distributor News

Much of this southwestern Missouri city lay in ruins on Monday after a massive tornado, the latest storm to ravage the Midwest and South this spring, tore through the area, killing at least 90 people. Officials say they expect the death toll to climb.

The twister, which touched down at about 6 p.m. Sunday in this city of 48,000 people, ripped apart buildings, started fires and uprooted trees.

As much as 30 percent of the town was damaged, including more than 2,000 buildings, among them a nursing home and several schools, firehouses and large stores, including a Wal-Mart and a Home Depot.

Promo Marketing, the source of product and marketing information for distributor sales professionals, announced the industry's Top 50 Distributors of 2011.

Neil Wiesenfeld, president of Atlanta-based AdMan Promotions, a member of the AIA Corporation network, fulfilled the customer service requirement for the Small Business of the Year Award from the Sandy Springs/Perimeter Chamber of Commerce.

Visstun and Paper Machinery Corporation (PMC) have been selected as winners of the 2010 WorldStar Packaging Competition in the beverage category for the "Barrier Plus Promotional Beverage Cups" entry (Visstun's Reusable Clear Plastic Cups).

Gene Geiger, chief executive officer of Lewiston, Maine-based Geiger, announced that Dale Denham has been hired as chief information officer for the company.

Cleveland-based Proforma received a 2011 PEAK Award of Excellence from the Print Service and Distribution Association (PSDA). The "Proforma Portfolio" was honored in the Promotional Campaign, Distributor Self-Promotion category.

In the wake of the 2008 recession and the shrinking of the credit market, as many as two out of three small business owners still worry about cash flow, according to a 2011 study commissioned by American Express. But there is good news. After some much-needed regrouping, major credit card issuers have started courting entrepreneurs again.

Banks want to lend money to your business, not just because they received some extra support from government stimulus programs, but because business loans generally carry fewer risks for lenders than consumer loans.

When it comes to acknowledging the contributions of small businesses, few honors are more prestigious than the Small Business Administration's Champion awards.

Although the SBA's Small Business Champions are nominated rather than plucked from the masses—and must have accepted the SBA's help at one point or another, limiting the pool of contenders—they needed to prove their mettle nonetheless. Not only did the national winners of awards like Exporter of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year have to show evidence of success through profits and sales, many of them needed to prove they've helped create business opportunities for fellow entrepreneurs.

Shortly after the April 27 tornado outbreak in the South, Vitronic Promotional Group sent 3,500 raincoats and rain suits to be used by relief workers as they try to help people put their lives back together.

iPROMOTEu announced that it will be hosting its third annual "Boardwalk Bash" during PROMOTIONS EAST in Atlantic City, N.J. The "Boardwalk Bash" will take place on Tuesday evening, June 7, from 9:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. at Gypsy Bar in the Borgata hotel in Atlantic City.