Meet Team Thomas

Meet Isaiah, 17-year-old entrepreneur, businessman and jack of all trades. He resides in a rural town in Northeast Nebraska with his parents, two older sisters and three goldens retrievers (Rosebud, Tucker and Teddy). He loves the outdoors, especially being on the water during the summertime waterskiing, paddleboarding, swimming, jet skiing, boat rides and more. He enjoys golfing, pickleball, going for walks, cooking, mowing, working with his hands, and much more. Isaiah tries his best to put his health first, with an unconventional approach to fitness and wellbeing, paving a path that he believes more youth and adults should apply to their life.

He has been around this industry for his whole life, going on the road with Rod (Dad) to meet with clients since he was young, gaining knowledge and experience in the field.

Isaiah started getting even more involved with the business in late 2022, managing email correspondence and handling proofs along with the communications that go along with those. He has now been promoted to Chief Branding Officer yet is still handling and overseeing his Administrative Assistant responsibilities.

With years of experience from hitting the road with Rod, Isaiah picked up on crucial email communicative skills and ground rules. His main goal is timely, respective and informative responses whether that would be through email, phone call or text.

Ad Specialties (now more commonly known as ‘Branded Merch’), is not his only area of expertise. Isaiah owns a woodworking business, I.T.’s Woodworking, offering “High quality, functional, classy, custom wood products”. From early childhood, he has helped his grandpa with his flooring installation business, as well as other carpentry projects. He has always loved working with his hands, and he applies that passion to designing, building, giving and selling custom handmade wood products.

To this day, Isaiah is still learning and growing in the industry as well as in life. He’s always had a knack for learning new skills and techniques to expand his knowledge and understanding to improve himself, help others and be there the best he can for his family.

Cleopatra is a Social Media Manager and Content Creator for Branded Merch Co., working alongside the team to create images/content that not only speaks to who we are as a brand, but also to our intended customers. Her focus is to use traditional values with a fresh take on modern ways of marketing, blending the two into a seamless yet honest approach on the promotional products industry. Much like her two younger siblings, Cleopatra has grown up learning the ins and outs of the industry and enjoys the creative ways of attracting new business it can provide.

When she’s not helping with Branded Merch Co., she’s writing! Cleopatra has written and published fourteen novels, and is always working on her next one, whether it’s in the brainstorming or the publication phase. She writes contemporary, life-changing romances that are all set in small-town Nebraska, a nod to the place she’s lived in her whole life. Inspiration for her novels comes from both real life + fictional storylines she dreams up. She hopes that her stories will inspire readers to both dream bigger and yet live slower, more quiet lives with the intention of making an impact—if only in the ones closest to you, as this can be a ripple effect to the whole world.

Cleopatra was homeschooled alongside her two younger siblings, having graduated in 2021 with plans to continue writing, working with the family businesses, and eventually, to get married and have a family of her own. When she’s not working on various projects, she enjoys reading, time with family and friends, dancing, traveling, lake days, playing cards/games, being outside, visiting coffee shops, and enjoying life.

Rod is the guy who always leaves the light on! He resides in rural Northeast Nebraska with his family and three goldens retrievers (Rosebud, Tucker and Teddy). His family spends as much time as they can at the lake in Okoboji and Missouri River in the warmer months, sunrise and sunset water skiing along with many other water and land activities. He is passionate about family, wellness (mental and physical health; Rhythm & Routine; healthy beliefs, behaviors, and habits), homeschooling,  family meals, gatherings, giving, working with his hands, Mother Nature, Quiet Time, reading, helping people, business and entrepreneurship. He enjoys creating and working with their businesses, along with spending time cooking and grilling, being on, in, and by the water, being outdoors, unconventional movement, dancing, playing games, swimming, boat rides, golfing, pickleball, paddleboarding. going for walks, and more. He helps lead their new Family Philanthropic Project: Families Unite to "Inspire Families to 'Be Family', Together For A Change, Together We can Change the World, Changing Lives".

Rod loves being able go on the road with Isaiah to visit with customers and prospects and work with the family at home and while traveling. He specializes in creative BRANDing for businesses across many different industries. He has over 29 years of experience in the Advertising Specialties/Promotional Products, 'Branded Merch', industry. His passion shows how physical products are transformed into a branded experience. His vast knowledge and awareness of Branded Merch products, along with vendor relationships, is the foundation where he starts building success for their customers' events and projects. The FOLLOW-UP he brings to the table is key in delivering not only what you want, yet what you need. He is the BRANDing Expert who takes an event or project from start to finish. Rod and his team add significant value to their customer's marketing mix through outstanding service, mapping out creative solutions, and building relationships and trust. He welcomes you to "Experience the Difference"!

Amy holds business owners, experts, and her family accountable to their greatness. Her greatest schooling has come from the School of Life, and more than enough times in the past from the School of Hard Knox. Today, her main focus is on their mental and physical health, family, businesses, gatherings, and special projects. They have kicked off and are now leading their Family Philanthropic Project: Families Unite to "Inspire Families to 'Be Family', Together For A Change, Together We can Change the World, Changing Lives". They work hard and play hard wherever they spend their days, on the road and at home.

Her family has three golden retrievers and currently resides in Creighton, Nebraska and they spend as much time as they can at the lake in Okoboji and Missouri River in the warmer months, sunrise and sunset water skiing along with many other water and land activities. They are passionate about well-being (mental and physical health; Rhythm & Routine; healthy beliefs, behaviors, and habits), homeschooling, faith in action, family meals, cooking/grilling, gatherings, giving, working with our hands, Mother Nature, Quiet Time, helping people, business and entrepreneurship, writing, creating content, dancing, games and cards, golfing, pickleball, music, reading, water (in, on, by lakes, rivers, pools, etc.), paddleboarding, smores, steak, root beer, donuts, and so much more.

She specialized in small business consulting with an emphasis in personal development, business development, and business succession along with marketing and BRANDing. She has lead projects with leadership, business health, personal development, community development, and entrepreneurship. In the past, she completed the Certified Home Town Competitiveness Organizer, Certified NxLevel Instructor, Certified Yoga Sport Instructor, and is certified with the Dale Carnegie Professional Development and business valuation. Her training also specialized in economic development and business valuation. Her employment history includes various positions in dot com companies, custom offshore software development, business management and consulting, and economic development. Amy completed a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration Degree specializing in Marketing, Computer Information Systems, and Counseling/Therapy.by into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Josephine Kennedy leads email management and file management for our team to easily access, view, and manage emails and files wherever we are located at. Works closely to support and motivate our team for business development and building deeper connections with our customers and vendors. Throughout the day, she recognizes our team to acknowledge and encourage everyone so they are able to provide personalized attention and expert guidance with our customers. She also designs and sells branded merch for Mindset Merch Co. Spreading impactful reminders in a fun and stylish way.

Marketing through social media is where she feels most at home whether it’s creating stories, reels or a simple post.  She was homeschooled, along with her older sister and younger brother. Besides being mistaken as the older sister because of her height, hanging out with family is a big part of her life. Writing, something that she used to think only others could do, until she fully let myself channel her inner writer. Water, she loves all things water. Swimming, skiing, tubing, and is especially a big fan of lake Okoboji.

She loves video editing, which was a business venture her brother Isaiah and her tried. Loved, but at this time they both have other projects we are working on and have set it on the back burner. Golfing, she took that up a couple of summers ago and loved it. It tested her, but overall is a super fun sport and she enjoys playing a few times a summer. PICKELBALL…loves it. Working at coffee houses, something she loves to do, but especially when cool weather rolls around.

Chilling with her doggies, Rosie, Tucker, and Teddy. Couldn't do life without them. Listening to music. Whether it's jamin to Thrift Shop while doing dishes, or late-night drives to feels songs, she loves music. Fitness + exercise, something that she feels is an important key to life. Traveling, specifically road trips. There is something about it. She loves to see new places and meet new people. But always loves coming home.