Dave Saracino was working as a waiter at a successful restaurant in Toronto when he woke up a little heady after a late night and decided that it was time for a new job.

Dave Saracino is retiring after decades at BIC Graphic.

He looked in the Sunday classified ads, spotted a position at BIC Graphic (asi/40480) and, soon after, landed the gig.

Those were the first fateful steps in a career that saw Saracino become nothing short of an icon in the promotional products industry – a much-loved and respected celebrity, with the irrepressible character of the most charming raconteurs.

“Some people cruise through life under the radar, affecting a precious few in their closest circle; others have personalities so large and charisma so palpable, they change the temperature of a room just by walking into it,” wrote Michele Bell, ASI’s vice president of editorial and special events, in a 2016 Counselor article about Saracino. “The original smooth operator, Frank Sinatra, had that kind of swagger in spades – the chairman of the board, the straw that stirred the cocktail. In this industry, if Sinatra had a funnier kid brother, it would be Dave Saracino.”

Now, after more than 35 years with Florida-based BIC Graphic North America, Saracino is retiring from the Top 40 supplier.

“My love for this business goes way beyond promotional products,” said Saracino, a member of Counselor’s Power 50, which is a definitive ranking of promo’s most influential people. “This industry is unique because you don’t just maintain great relationships with your colleagues, but form real friendships with both clients and competitors. That’s what makes it truly special.”

For sure, Saracino will be missed.

“We’ll fondly remember Dave for the ‘Saracino Way,’ his distinct approach to how our organization presented itself at customer events, tradeshows and in our day-to-day business,” said BIC Graphic CEO David A. Klatt Jr. “He set an excellent example for raising the bar every time he hosted our customers, going above and beyond to make their experiences exceptional. Dave made such an impression with our own team that walking around with him at any of our facilities was like being with a celebrity. People were always happy to see Dave and he knew everyone.”

News on the retirement of Saracino, who even had a cocktail named after him, started making the rounds on social media late May 4. Well wishes and reflections quickly came in.

Have had more than my fair share of ‘Saracino’ cocktails over the years!! Cheers to David 🎉

— Michelle Merrifield (@MichelleMerrifi) May 4, 2020

The industry will never be the same...😘

— Kippie Helzel (@KHelzel) May 5, 2020

He will be missed!!!

— Donna Pearce, CAS (@donna_donnap530) May 5, 2020

Saracino started his career at BIC Graphic as a sales representative in Toronto. The humorous, outgoing, hard-working Saracino earned promotions through various sales positions in Canada and the U.S. before ascending to the role of vice president of field sales for all of North America in 2009. In his most recent position as senior vice president of business development, Saracino was an ambassador for BIC Graphic and a leader in establishing business strategies aimed at assuring the company’s success now and in the future.

In 2016, ASI honored Saracino with Counselor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a promo professional who, over the course of a long career, proves to be a passionate industry leader – a standard setter who’s a wellspring of ideas, energy and inspiration.

“Dave Saracino is an industry icon and one who defines the term,” Ira Neaman, president of Top 40 supplier Vantage Apparel (asi/93390), told Counselor at the time of the award. “Passionate about the business and all the people in it, if the industry was a brand, Dave would be the spokesperson.” Vantage even created a line of apparel – “DS” – based on Saracino’s electric persona.

“While Dave’s considerable experience in and deep knowledge of the promotional products industry distinguishes him from most other industry professionals, what really sets him apart is his magnetic personality,” said Ross Silverstein, owner of Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119). “Nobody’s a more impressive ambassador.”

Saracino has said that he had two mentors who were instrumental in his career. The first is past BIC Corp president Ray Winter and the second is former BIC Graphic president Jack Teague, who brought Saracino to Florida about 25 years.

Saracino took the inspiration and guidance of such leaders and carved out a career that was truly his own in a way that perhaps only he could. At the root of the success was a love of the promo industry and its people.

“I’m excited to tackle what’s next,” said Saracino, “but will certainly miss interacting with my promo family every day.”