Chefs Gallery

Creative mind, frustrated inventor, behind-the-scenes operator, professional creature artist. Grew up in coastal Virginia, went to the same school from 1st – 12th grade, enjoyed football, lacrosse, and wrestling. Spent summers as a child at Camp VA and Nags Head, and as a teen kayaking the San Juans, backpacking the Olympic Peninsula, rafting the Deschutes River, and hiking through Yellowstone, Glacier, and Teton National Parks. Summitted Mt. Rainier. Spent several years in Colorado after college (I love VA, but was born in the wrong state), a few years as a stockbroker, got my MBA, and started this crazy company called Brand Fuel in 1998 with my bestest bud Danny Rosin. I'm fortunate enough to have been a Big Brother, board member, volunteer, mentor, and donor to many worthy causes. Met my wonderful wife Amy in 2000 and am blessed with two amazing girls (Grayson, 12 and Anne Burns, 10). This year marks the 21st annual canoe/kayak/beer-around-the-campfire-and-tell-the same-stories trip with my friend Rob – good times every year since 1994. I’m grateful for the love and support of my parents, enjoy a group of close friends, and have a dog named Bear who thinks I am the man I’m striving to be. I’m a lucky guy.

Charity Gibson is the National Account Manager at Peerless, founder of industry social media firm Green Banana Social, prior owner of distributor company Green Banana Promos, and is the host of the Badass Women of Promo Podcast. She loves all things hot pink, tacos, dinosaurs, and believes that music is life!

Besides simply schlupping promo products she invests time and money in a number of philanthropic organizations, encourages eco-friendly business practices, and uses her extensive knowledge and experience to mentor fellow business owners in the areas of marketing and business development. She believes firmly in the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

With creative marketing strategies that include leveraging both traditional and social media channels, and creativity that is unending, this former IT major gone marketing specialist is a tech savvy promotional powerhouse.

Wow, where did the 50 years go? For me it has been a great half a century. I really have no regrets and a few things that I would have done differently. I have an amazing wife (we met at Duke) and two amazing kids who are a daily reminder of what it must have been like to raise me. I guess I owe my parents an apology and a big Thank You.