It was good to be together again.

Such was the common sentiment among attendees of Elevate, a networking and educational event hosted by Top 40 promotional products distributor Proforma (asi/300094) for its owner-affiliates and team members. Key suppliers attended the event, too.  

While COVID-19 forced 2021’s Elevate to be virtual, this year’s event occurred in person last week at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, in conjunction with PPAI Expo.

“Proforma’s 300 Elevate attendees engaged with interactive supplier sessions and took part in celebrating the first of eight technology releases scheduled for 2022,” said Proforma Chief Marketing Officer Billie Jo Mathusek. “They even got a first-look at Proforma’s latest sales and marketing resources, which are instrumental in the double-digit growth projected for this year.”

The event was also notable because it celebrated the release of ProStores University, a training and certification program for Proforma’s proprietary e-commerce platform.

“ProStores University will offer a systematic approach to providing this training and provide a pathway to become a certified e-commerce consultant,” said Proforma Chief Strategy Officer Stan Maxwell. “The reaction of our owners has been overwhelmingly positive, with many of our courses reaching capacity within a few hours.”

Proforma ranked fourth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the promo industry based on 2020 North American promo sales of $538.5 million.