Before joining Goldner Associates in 1967, Jim worked as a buyer of men and women’s apparel for Allied Department Stores in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was soon active in the specialty advertising industry and became a Certified Advertising Specialist in 1970. Although Jim began his career at Goldner Associates in sales, his ideas and vision have helped the company grow from a local business to a national corporation. One of these ideas, providing on-site warehouse services, has continued to play an integral role in the company’s growth. Under Jim’s direction, Goldner Associates’ sales have grown 50 fold. An inspiring leader, Jim believes in attracting the most talented staff and creating a stimulating and satisfying work environment. His motto, “Do whatever it takes to make the customer happy,” is deeply embedded into Goldner Associates' corporate culture.
Management
After serving a short time as a public accountant, Andy entered the promotional products industry from the manufacturing side. He quickly became a top sales representative for Howard Miller Clocks in the Special Markets division, calling on advertising specialty, promotional product and premium incentive companies. Andy joined Goldner Associates in 2002 as a Sales Coordinator, working closely with the company's sales force and industry suppliers. From there he spent time in various aspects of the company, including sales and management roles. Andy became President of Goldner Associates in August 2005. He plays an active role in the promotional products industry, serving on the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS) board and has sat on an Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) advisory board.
After a background in teaching, Elise joined Goldner Associates in 1982 in the accounting department. She later began working as customer service and sales in the Medals, Pins and Patches division, helping that department grow. Today she is involved in many aspects of the overall company, from accounting and customer service to business operations.
Soon after graduating from Indiana University, Mitch Emoff entered the promotional products industry with a top 100 Midwestern distributorship in 1984. Over the course of a 20+ year span, Mitch held a number of key management positions with the company including president of a sales territory and president of Fulfillment Services, and he eventually reached a top executive position.
Mitch moved to Nashville and joined Goldner Associates in November 2006 as Executive Vice President with a track record of leadership in the industry. Mitch served as President of the Tri-State Advertising Specialty Association (now Tri-State Promotional Products Association) in 1991 and as the Retail Advertising Conference (RAC) representative for the Ohio region in 1992. Mitch also served in 2002 and 2003 as President of PeerNet, an industry distributor networking group with over $250M in annual sales. He has been a featured columnist for the Counselor magazine on several occasions and has conducted training sessions at Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) and Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) shows over the past several years.
After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in psychology and business, Laurie moved to Chicago where she worked in the Market Research field for 11 years. As Market Research Director she designed and executed qualitative and quantitative research projects for a wide variety of industries. Laurie moved to Nashville in 2002 and started working in Goldner Associates’ Programs Department, focusing on customer service, merchandising and managing inventory fulfillment programs. In 2004 Laurie became Director of Marketing where she plans, implements and analyzes marketing initiatives, including creative direct mail projects, corporate literature and research surveys.
Before joining Goldner Associates, Michael spent three years working in the music industry and four years as manager of a retail golf outlet. Michael joined Goldner Associates in October 1999 as a customer service and order entry associate in the Programs department. As the department grew, so did Michael’s responsibilities, and in December 2005, he was named manager of the Programs department.
Before joining Goldner Associates, Donna spent the first 16 years of her career in the financial world, working her way up to a management position. In 1997, her career led her from Missouri to Florida where she served as the Customer Service Manager of a car dealership. In September 1999, Donna entered the promotional products industry as the Office Manager of a promotional products distributor in Orlando. When Goldner Associates acquired that distributorship in February 2001, Donna joined Goldner Associates as its Orlando Office Manager. Donna plays an active role in the industry, having previously served on the Promotional Products Association of Florida’s Board of Directors.
Dawn launched her accounting career at the Tennessee Legislature working for the House Finance, Ways & Means committee. She moved from the State Legislature to the State Treasury where she served as the liaison between each of the state departments and the treasury. Dawn spent some time in the non-profit world working with United Way as a general accountant before landing a job with Willis North America, the third largest insurance brokerage company in the world. After a stint doing accounting for a trucking company, Dawn joined Goldner Associates in December 2006 and was promoted to Accounting Manager in January 2008.
Before joining Goldner Associates, Joan worked for 11 years in the Office Equipment industry. Joan joined Goldner Associates in September 1989 as Office Manager, but in the ensuing years she became involved in operations support functions and system training. As a management consultant she is currently involved in the operations side of the business.
