In an industry built on relationships, sometimes the most important part of sales is simply being there.
For Burnside/Sierra Pacific Apparel, that philosophy is represented by two promotional products industry veterans who have spent decades building relationships, visiting customers, attending trade shows and learning the business from the ground up: Executive Vice President of Sales Paul Kory and Vice President of Sales Scott Whitesell.
Together, Kory and Whitesell bring more than 60 years of combined promotional products industry experience to Burnside/Sierra Pacific Apparel. But their roles aren't confined to offices, conference calls and sales reports. Much of their work happens where the industry itself happens—on the road.
Sales Built on Relationships
Promotional products has always been a relationship-driven business. Technology has made ordering easier and communication faster, but personal connections remain an important part of how suppliers and distributors work together.
For Kory and Whitesell, that means getting in front of customers.
Whether they're walking a trade-show floor, visiting distributors, presenting new apparel or sitting down with customers to talk through opportunities, traveling gives the pair something that can't always be replicated through an email or video call: firsthand conversations about what distributors are seeing in the market.
Those conversations can cover everything from apparel trends and decoration to inventory, pricing, customer requests and what's actually selling.
It's a perspective that comes from experience.
Kory has spent more than 30 years in the promotional products industry and has been with Burnside/Sierra Pacific for roughly a decade. Before joining the company, he held sales leadership positions with other industry suppliers, including Vantage Apparel. Today, as executive vice president of sales, he helps lead sales initiatives, develop relationships and support growth across the company's markets.
Whitesell brings another 30 years of promotional products experience. Before joining Burnside/Sierra Pacific in 2023, his career included positions with Gemline, Sweda and J. Charles. During his tenure with J. Charles, Whitesell was recognized multiple times as the company's sales rep of the year. His background also includes experience as a business owner, giving him another perspective on what it takes to build and maintain customer relationships.
Industry Veterans Who Still Hit the Road
After three decades in an industry, it might be tempting to rely primarily on an established network and a long contact list.
Kory and Whitesell take a more hands-on approach.
Traveling allows them to reconnect with longtime customers while meeting the next generation of distributor professionals entering the business. It also keeps them close to what's happening in individual markets rather than relying solely on reports and sales data.
For Kory, that emphasis on personal interaction has been part of his approach throughout his career. In a previous PPAI profile, he described being drawn to sales because of the opportunity to help customers solve business needs and because every day offered something different. He also emphasized the importance of the people he's worked with throughout the promotional products industry.
That relationship-first mentality remains particularly relevant as Burnside/Sierra Pacific enters a new chapter.
Bringing Experience Into a New Era
Burnside/Sierra Pacific has undergone significant changes in how it serves the promotional products market.
In 2026, the company expanded its direct-to-distributor capabilities, relaunched its website with direct ordering, live inventory and customer-specific pricing, and expanded its sales and customer-support network. The changes brought the company closer to distributors and created additional opportunities to receive direct feedback from the people selling its products every day.
For traveling sales leaders like Kory and Whitesell, that direct connection becomes especially valuable.
Every distributor visit and industry event becomes an opportunity not only to present products, but to listen.
What styles are customers requesting? What price points are working? Which fabrics are getting attention? What problems are distributors trying to solve? What could a supplier do better?
Those conversations can travel back to the rest of the organization and help influence how Burnside/Sierra Pacific approaches products, service and marketing.
More Than Selling a Shirt
Apparel in the promotional products industry isn't simply about putting a logo on a garment.
Distributors are helping customers choose products that represent companies, organizations, teams and events. That requires understanding how a garment looks, feels, fits, decorates and ultimately supports the customer's objective.
Burnside/Sierra Pacific's portfolio gives Kory and Whitesell multiple ways to approach those conversations, from the fashion-forward styles associated with Burnside Apparel to the corporate and uniform-oriented products of Sierra Pacific Apparel, along with the company's other apparel offerings.
Having spent decades in promotional products, the two sales executives have also watched the industry evolve.
Kory previously reflected on that transformation, noting the industry's progression from a comparatively straightforward collection of promotional items into a more sophisticated marketplace influenced by retail trends, technology, new sales channels and increasingly diverse product offerings.
That evolution makes experience valuable—but it also makes staying connected to customers essential.
The Value of Showing Up
There are faster ways to communicate than getting on a plane, driving to a customer or spending days working a trade show.
But efficiency isn't always the same thing as connection.
For Burnside/Sierra Pacific Apparel, having two longtime industry professionals willing to remain visible and accessible in the marketplace provides another link between the company and the distributors it serves.
After more than 30 years apiece in promotional products, Paul Kory and Scott Whitesell have accumulated plenty of industry experience.
They're still adding to it—one customer conversation, one trade show and one trip at a time.