More than 700 promotional product professionals attended Proforma’s (asi/300094) 2017 Annual Convention & Family Reunion. Held recently at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, FL, the four-day event brimmed with education sessions, motivational presentations, networking opportunities and more.

“It is exciting to see how Proforma’s Convention has evolved into one of the premier events in our industry,” said Greg Muzzillo, founder of Proforma. “We are fortunate to have the industry’s most driven, talented and successful distributors, supplier partners and support staff come together to share ideas, collaborate with one another, and help each other achieve even more success.”

Headlining events included a keynote presentation from Jack Canfield, New York Times best-selling author of Success Principles and the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Canfield shared powerful strategies and sales principles designed to help attendees increase their sales. Meanwhile, Muzzillo introduced a motivational business development program designed to inspire owners and sales reps to be proactive in executing wealth-building activities. Vera Muzzillo, CEO of Proforma, updated the network on the high-tech advancements recently integrated into Proforma’s proprietary e-commerce platform, ProStores.

Several new programs were also introduced, including a new direct-mail marketing campaign and “Proforma Show & Grow,” an initiative in which Proforma owners and sales reps are paired with supplier partner reps to grow sales through direct client interaction.

During the annual awards ceremony, a record-breaking 34 Proforma businesses were recognized for qualifying to apply for the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Additionally, Proforma recognized top performers; the top 12 Proforma businesses alone accounted for more than $110 million in sales. Fred and Suzette Albrecht, co-owners of Proforma Albrecht & Co. (asi/116308), took the top honors with $34.2 million in sales in 2016. Proforma presented Centurion awards to 79 owners who increased their sales by more than $100,000 and 28 suppliers who increased their sales with Proforma by more than $100,000 in the 2016 calendar year.