Kellie Hoffmeister

The history of Panda Communications is really the story of Kellie Hoffmeister's journey through a career in marketing. She began by designing and selling exhibits for the trade show industry. This led to the position of advertising manager for a Christian recording company. In time she became regional marketing manager, then national marketing manager for Marie Callender's Restaurants, a chain with over 200 stores. While there, she created, produced and wrote copy for national newspaper ads, created and produced billboards, point-of-purchase in-store promotions and media plans, and coordinated grand-opening events across the country.

Feeling the need to expand her horizons, she left consumer retail marketing behind and crossed over to business-to- business marketing, landing the position of marketing communications manager for Lyons Safety, Inc., the nation's fifth-largest distributor of OSHA-mandated safety equipment. She and her staff of seven produced direct mail pieces, newsletters and sales promotions, and Lyons' national four-color, 300+ page catalog. She also managed Lyons' mailing lists and coordinated twenty-three trade shows every year, including three major national shows. She helped launch Lyons' sister company, 1st Defense, by coordinating store design, and by producing a 120 page full line, four-color catalog. Her experience at Lyons Safety has made her extremely knowledgeable in the safety industry.

In May of 1996, Kellie felt the time was right to break away and start her own company. The same day she left Lyons, Kellie landed her first account, and Panda Communications was born.