Out of all the pleasures Jacqui enjoyed as a single woman after getting divorced, being owner of her eight-year-old promo business, Just Looking Logos, was another life perk. But the one thing she dreaded in the business world was people taking life too seriously, like Fred Snyder, an industry veteran she knew through the local regional association, then known as SACDV, now PAPPA. Being a fun and laid back type, Jacqui didn’t care at all for the cavalier style of Fred Snyder who sported an attitude. In her opinion, Fred was too highfalutin and uptight, and Jacqui just flat was not.
Truth of the matter, Fred didn’t care for Jacqui either. In his words, “Hers was an upstart company. I was very sincere in my admiration of the promotional products industry and what it was all about. I was on the initial RAC (Regional Association Council) and worked on the different levels of the SACDV executive team. When someone came along and treated the industry more like a hobby, I took offense.”
Fred continued with his disdain. “She and her girlfriend, Laura, would be in the corner talking about irrelevant things, and ASI and PPAI were fighting with each other. There was a lot of industry wrestling going on, and I must admit I probably took it too seriously at the time.”
As Regional Vice President of Geiger, a company in existence since 1878—and the largest privately held distributor in the world—Fred had good reason to take his job seriously. So when Jacqui and her friend were in the corner talking what he considered ‘smack,’ it got under his skin.
“Then when Jacqui ran for president of SACDV, I was very insulted because she was new to the industry and felt she could take that position,” Fred remembers.
Interestingly enough, her running for president of the association is what eventually softened Fred up a bit. And, well, it softened Jacqui to Fred, too. “I thought he was ‘all that’…until I got to know him.” Jacqui laughs.
Ultimately, Jacqui joined forces with the Geiger sales team, and Fred takes the credit for recruiting her. However, the jury is still out on who actually recruited whom because from there, a romance blossomed beginning in 2008, though Fred was careful to avoid nepotism.
Fred was a sixty year old and Jacqui was a young fifty when, during dinner one night while vacationing in the Bahamas, Fred got down on one knee and proposed. Instead of the usual “yes” following a marriage proposal, Jacqui answered, “Under one condition: as long as we don’t get married in Pennsylvania,” a state where they both had prior divorces.
Wanting a clean marriage slate, Jacqui and Fred tied the knot on September 10th, 2011 at Stairway Twelve on Smathers Beach in Key West, Florida. Note the irony of the numbers: 9-10-11 on Stairway 12!
Needless to say, the wedding was as interesting as the couple tying the knot. The majority of guests were co-workers and industry suppliers. It was way too cool when Peerless Umbrellas imprinted the wedding date on pink and lime green umbrellas and gave them as gifts to shade the sun. But as soon as Fred and Jacqui said, “I do” and popped the champagne, the Key West themed umbrellas came in handy for a different reason: thunder roared, lightning struck and pouring rains followed.
As it turned out, not only were the umbrellas used to block the sun and shield the bride, groom and guests from the pop-up showers, the guests were hanging them out of the open windows of the trolley car to keep them dry from the blowing rain as they trekked to the other side of the island for the wedding reception. They drew lots of stares from passersby as they rode down the street with spinning umbrellas hanging out of the trolley car windows.
The heavy rains that followed their matrimonial “I do’s” had to have been a sign of blessings from above. Jacqui and Fred both brought daughters, Jamie and Nicole, and soon granddaughters into their marriage. With Fred now retired, they enjoy their four granddaughters, who are very special to them, and both state they are the eccentric circle of their lives. Wednesdays are dedicated to babysitting Sybil and Cora, and not a night goes by without a Facetime with Joey and Sloane.
During their time off together, Fred and Jacqui hop in their convertible and travel the countryside, stopping at flea markets and unusual stores they stumble across.
Even though Fred is retired, he hasn’t stopped working. He still helps Jacqui knock sales out of the promo park. In 2020, when the world was blindsided by a major pandemic, Jacqui grew her sales and sold over two million dollars, an exceptional aim to reach during a regular year, but especially in the year of the unforgettable pandemic.
“Though I am jealous of Fred’s retirement, it’s very hard to walk away from that,” Jacqui said. “I will continue in the promotional product business. Even if we hit the lottery, I wouldn’t quit. He was a great manager. Everyone loves him so it is weird not having him as my manager anymore,” she adds.
From having worked together to waking up together, I’d call Jacqui and Fred’s personal and professional relationship a win-win!
Kathryn Kaufmann is a freelance writer and the author of Marriages Meant to Be, Dating Daisy Fields and The Priest and the Princess. Her books can be found on Amazon, BN.com, and autographed copies can be purchased through www.BooksandSwag.com. She also owns Authentic Creations, an ASI Distributor located in Birmingham, Alabama.