MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — May 6, 2019 — Today, on the first day of the American Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN) annual pro:Americas conference, Sue Strickland, executive director, and Mike Todaro, managing director, were honored with lifetime achievement awards.
Tony Anzovino, AAPN president and chief sourcing and merchandising officer, Haggar Clothing Co., invited some of AAPN’s directors and members of the executive committee to the stage as he presented Strickland and Todaro with the award. Carlos Arias, CEO, Winds Enterprises; Kurt Cavano, founder, Infor/GTNexus; Rick Horwitch, vice president, global retail & supply chain strategy, Bureau Veritas; Juan Zighelboim, president, TexOps; Joe Cuervo, senior strategic sourcing manager – materials, Kohls; and Ron Roach, president, Contempora Fabrics, thanked Strickland and Todaro for their dedication while sharing a few words.
Strickland has run the organization since 1991 when it was known as the American Apparel Contractors Association. Todaro joined her in 1995. Membership numbers dropped drastically following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but through hard work and a willingness to embrace change — opening membership to the Americas in 2001, later the world; changing the name first to the American Apparel Producers Network, then in 2013 to the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network to reflect the changing nature of the organization; hosting conferences in Central and South America; adding regional conferences across the United States to allow less-senior personnel the opportunity to participate in the network; and establishing the Carolinas Mill tour to help educate brands and retailers on steps in the garment production chain with a focus on the supply chain available in the Carolinas — AAPN is thriving and growing today.
“It is truly a lifetime that they’ve worked hard at this, and it was time to honor that,” said Anzovino. “After all these years, the fact that they are so open to change is amazing and is one of the reasons this network has grown so much in recent years and continues to grow.”
“I can think of no two people who have helped to elevate the supply chain in the Americas, and the world, more than the two of you,” said Horwitch. “While doing so, you have helped to make the world, and millions of lives, better. You are educators and connectors. You innovators and disruptors. We are not only members of the AAPN, we are part of a global, interconnected, network.”
“I have known Mike and Sue for more than a dozen years,” said Cavano. “Through their leadership, the AAPN has brought together a unique cross section of the entire apparel supply chain. They built an organization that focused on the Americas when the rest of the industry was abandoning it. Fast forward to now and as the Americas have reemerged as a key component of almost every company’s supply chain, AAPN leads the conversation and serves as the heartbeat of this renaissance.”
“I know of no other organization in our industry, or any industry, that truly lives and breathes professional networks,” said Walter Wilhelm, chairman, WWA Advisors. “Sue’s and Mike’s contributions to openness throughout our supply chain have been simply invaluable.”
Headquartered in Atlanta, AAPN states that its goals are to raise the collective “Apparel IQ” of the industry and build the “21st Century Supply Chain of the Americas.” Members — located in North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Europe and Asia — comprise the more than 30 links of the apparel supply chain.
Posted May 6, 2019
Source: Textile World
