Larry Mays
President
Larry Mays is the President of Boardwalk Marketing, a product decorating company located in Erie, PA. Boardwalk specializes in “special effect” apparel decorating utilizing advanced screen printing techniques. Boardwalk is generally recognized as one of the leading suppliers of premium quality decorated apparel in the industry. Larry is a veteran of more than 40 years the Promotional Products Industry and is a frequent speaker for PPAI, Regional Associations and private distributors around the country.
Over the last dozen years he has traveled to 15 states and educated thousands of people on a wide range of topics including Apparel Decorating, Art, Sales, Target Marketing and the Economy. While best known for seminars on Apparel Decorating and Sales & Marketing, he has impressed diverse audiences with his in-depth knowledge of the economy and his seminars on how to succeed in any economic environment. Under his creative leadership Boardwalk Marketing has created the most unique apparel decorating sample set in the industry which has been used as a hands-on educational tool by thousands of sales reps to better understand apparel decorating techniques.
In all of his seminars special emphasis is placed on insuring that attendees come away with practical applications that can be used immediately to generate new sales and increased profitability. Larry has been described by attendees as “hilarious, charming, controversial, insightful, intense, extraordinarily demanding, relentless and passionate.” But most of all, “determined to make a difference in the lives of those who attend his seminars.” The one thing everybody agrees about is “he is not someone who is easy to forget.”
He brings an unconventional background to Promotional Marketing. He is a 1971 graduate of Case Western Reserve University with a degree in Political Science and a minor concentration in English and Psychology. However, half of his education was devoted to Engineering and in particular, systems analysis. In the years since college he has devoted his energies to the study of Marketing and the changing face of advertising, marketing and branding in the new economy.
On a personal level, he is especially devoted to his loving wife Jean, three children, five tremendous grandchildren and two exceptional nephews. He is a devoted golfer and lists among his most prized possessions an expansive library of hundreds of books and a workshop stocked with tools to accomplish most any task. In his limited free time he is a devoted fan of all things “Disney” and can serve as a guide for anyone who wants to maximize their trip to the Magic Kingdom.
Gregory Mays
Vice President
Gregory – aka Greg – is the younger brother of Larry and has been with the company almost since it’s inception.
One year after the company was founded in 1974, Larry moved his small trophy shop to a new storefront which just happened to be a few blocks from Greg’s house. So in the summer of 1976 Greg went to work for his big brother. He was all of 14 years old and about to enter his Freshman year in high school. He started out making trophies and doing engraving using an old hand operated pantograph engraving machine. Larry paid Greg a half-cent a letter (a the time Larry charged 5 cents for each letter engraved) for the engraving work, plus free lunch. And the joke was, Greg was overpaid. Greg disagrees.
Over the years Greg has become a jack of all trades within the company. Every machine that is installed is first operated by Greg. While he does not normally run most machines these days it is his ultimate responsibility to fix things when they go wrong, and oversee the training of new top level operators. Greg is also in charge of the office staff, the finances of the company, and is the CTO – Chief Technology Officer. Meaning, it’s his job to unjam the printer when paper gets stuck!
He has written the software that controls our operations and production. But most importantly, Greg is the author and code creator for the Quote Magician software system, an enormous undertaking in which he takes great pride.
Greg is married to his lovely wife Jennifer and is the proud father of two tremendous sons. One son is working his way through the world while his younger brother is working his way to a college degree. Free time is consumed by home renovations and projects and spending time with Jen in their relatively empty nest!!