Gempire/gwi

Barbara Ma, who has worked at Gempire/Floral Promotions, Tampa, Fla., for 35 years, will retire, effective Friday.

There's a reason why more than a billion dollars worth of promotional desk and office products are sold every year: They're effective. From sticky notes and pens to journals and mugs, the items we use during every workday are the perfect vehicles for promotional advertising.

Company president, Harvey Mackler, MAS, commented, “This move will make us more efficient, and we pledge to continue to provide our award winning customer service.”

Alan Goldfarb, widely regarded as the organizer of the industry’s most successful traveling trade shows, has launched his own company, SHOWTIME, LLC, Greenland, N.H. Florida’s Gold Coast Promotional Products Association (GCPPA) is the first to take advantage of SHOWTIME’s services, with an event scheduled for Oct. 10. A schedule is already announced for events in Aug., Sept. and Oct. 2007, and a full calendar of SHOWTIME events in 2008 will soon follow. Suppliers planning their exhibit schedules and budgets will receive a SHOWTIME contract before June 1, 2007. Goldfarb, a 30-year industry veteran, began his career as a distributor. He is credited with the