Dan Messerschmidt, JDS Industries
President, APA - Where Personalization Pros Connect

(March/April 2024) Many of you know me, but for those who don’t: Hi, I’m Dan Messerschmidt, your recently inducted APA president. I’m the national sales director for JDS Industries, an APA supplier member and one of its strong supporters. I joined the industry in 2011 and volunteered with APA almost immediately.

My service to APA began on the Trade Show Committee (2012-2015). I chaired the committee for a year before being elected to APA’s Board of Directors from 2016 to 2018, serving the final year as a member of the Executive Committee. In 2021, the membership elected me to the board for a second time. This February, at the International Personalization Expo, I was officially inducted as APA president.

Each president is encouraged to have a theme for their year of leadership, something that expresses what they want APA to accomplish while they’re at the helm. My theme captures what I value about APA and what I want to ensure others have the opportunity to experience: Awareness. Engagement. Connection.

Awareness

It’s important that everyone in the personalization industry finds out about what APA is and what APA can offer them. 

APA is the organization for retailers and suppliers of personalized and customized items. By providing education, meetings, and access to a vibrant network of professionals, APA is the one place to ensure the growth of your talent, your business, and your professional community.

We’ve been around, under different names, since 1964, back when the average annual family income in the U.S. was just $6,000. Our mission statement is “Helping businesses thrive.” Through that mission, we have a vision of a world inspired through personalization and recognition.

For more than 30 years, our association has been managed by a Chicago-based company called Association Management Center (AMC). AMC staff, led by APA Executive Director Louise Ristau, manage all aspects of APA.

Engagement

Our association caters to both supplier and retailer members, whether their companies are large or small. We offer a host of benefits that not only help those businesses thrive but also keep our membership engaged with APA. Examples that benefit suppliers and retailers differently include:

• The International Personalization Expo
• Insights Magazine
• Member2Member Forum
• Webinars
• Education sessions at the expo
• Member savings program
• Supplier search directory
• Professional certification

Volunteering is a great way to stay engaged with APA and maximize the value of your membership, even while your fellow members benefit from your increased involvement. Go to PersonalizationPros.org/Membership/AboutUs/Volunteer to find out more and express your interest in volunteering. You can offer one-off help at the expo or throw your hat in the ring to serve on a committee aligned with your professional interests. Remember, our committees and our board are populated entirely by elected or appointed industry volunteers, with a healthy mix of retailers and suppliers.

Connection

Connections matter to me, and I know they matter to you. Over the past 13 years, I have had the opportunity to connect with hundreds of personalization businesses throughout the country—listening, teaching, and learning. Those connections inspire my service with APA and ensure that I keep our members’ (and potential members’) needs at the forefront.

Among our APA volunteers, connections matter too. I enjoy and gravitate to working in team environments. Board work requires a lot of give and take along with patience and open-mindedness.

The world, the industry, and our association have changed since APA was founded in 1964. But the connections between us are still what matters most—and APA is the place to foster those connections. Our companies can be seen as competitors, but through APA, we’re not just retailers and suppliers. We are members, and we are friends, and sometimes we are even family. At the expo, on the Member2Member Forum, through webinars, and through volunteering, we connect with our fellow members—across business types, geography, age, and more. In a world that needs connections now more than ever, APA brings us together to support one another.