Ray Titus is one of the few people who can honestly say that franchising runs in his family.

The son of franchise pioneer Roy Titus, Ray began his career with Minuteman Press, the 800-franchise printing business his father founded in 1972. In 1987, Ray helped Roy establish yet another successful franchise system, SIGNARAMA, the world’s largest sign franchise , which now boasts more than 650 locations. Ray became the president in 1995 and has been instrumental in helping guide the company’s expansion into 32 countries and nearly every U.S. state.

In 2000, Ray used his extensive franchising experience to form EmbroidMe, which has been ranked the #1 custom embroidery, screen-printing, and promotional products franchise in the world by Entrepreneur Magazine for the past two years running! Under his leadership, Ray’s franchise has rapidly grown to more than 150 locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Tom joined United Franchise Group family in June 2006 as the Director of National Accounts. In June of 2007 he moved over to work specifically on the Billboard Connection brand as Director of Business Development. In March of 2008 he was promoted to Managing Director and oversees all aspects of the Billboard Connection brand and its development.

Tom has over 15 years experience in the media & out of-home advertising industry. He has worked on the outdoor media sales and management side as well as the media buying /agency side of the industry. This broad industry experience gives Tom a unique understanding in all aspects of sales, marketing and operations in the out-of-home advertising industry. In addition, Tom co-owned and operated a successful franchise that focused on trading & selling millions of dollars in all types of advertising including outdoor, print, cable, direct mail & internet. Tom holds a degree in Business Management from the State University of New York.

Hal Sklar joined Billboard Connection as the Director of Sales and Operations in June of 2004. Hal brings over seventeen years of franchising experience, fourteen of which were with A.T.L. International Inc. a nationwide chain of automotive repair centers. As the Vice President of Operations and Training he was responsible for training all new franchisees and their management staff as well as coordinating the opening of all new locations nationwide. Hal brings an extensive background to Billboard Connection in the areas of marketing, sales, training and store operations.

J.J. Prendamano is often described as BillboardConnection's "head mentor." Since joining our sister company SIGNARAMA in 1991, he has effectively launched and managed many of our key projects, including the World Expo, the Executive Training Seminars , and our most recent initiative, the Global Accounts program. This program which he claims will be a "blockbuster program that will feed a large volume of business to owners who find it hard-pressed to acquire on their own."

J.J. is still big on personnel and has always reiterated that our people are and will always be our greatest asset. He believes strongly in continuing education, both inside and outside of the office and has spearheaded learning programs for all levels of employees, both in corporate and in the field. The Executive Training Seminars, (ETS), a 3-day training program for corporate employees, held twice a year at corporate headquarters, exemplifies the progress we've made in continuing education.

Prior to joining our company he spent 21 years with General Electric Company, where he managed more than $35 million in consumer sales and was responsible for 13 branches and over 100 employees.

As BillboardConnection's vice president of operations, Ken Gutman oversees the company's financial and legal functions - and develops the programs and procedures that will insure the financial security of the company well into the future.

A 1985 graduate of Florida State University, Ken began his career with our sister company SIGNARAMA in January 1988 when the company had only four franchise locations. Since then he has worked in virtually all capacities, as a marketing representative in SIGNARAMA's original store, and a regional vice president for the Mid-Atlantic states. He also has helped develop the initial Start-Up program for franchise owners to follow once they graduate from training school. He was promoted to his current position in 1999.