Before joining Goldstar Pens last year as midwest regional sales manager, Parker Melvin spent his entire promo industry career on the distributor side. That makes him uniquely qualified to talk about the state of collaboration and communication between distributors and suppliers, a topic we couldn't wait to dive into for episode 7 of the Promo Marketing Podcast.

We asked Parker about why he made the switch, what he was surprised to learn in making the move, and how distributors and suppliers can work better, together, for the benefit of the industry as a whole. How are those relationships between the two sides of the promo business? What can we all do to improve? Parker gave us the inside scoop, and his answers are equal parts surprising and inspiring.

Is that all we've got? Of course not! Listen in as Sean and Brendan analyze the most exciting and important story of the summer: SHARK HEIST 2018! Plus, we discuss Disney's announcement that it will eliminate plastic straws (and other single-use plastics) in its theme parks by 2019, and what the increasing number of similar moves by major cities and corporations could mean for the promo industry moving forward.