Local company, global reach

By Tara Nelson

Blaine resident Nina Hazard wanted a way to use her more than 25 years of corporate marketing experience but wanted more flexibility. So, in 1998, when her former employer would not give her a much-needed leave of absence to care for her terminally-ill mother, she quit her job and founded her own business Hazard Promotions, a marketing promotions firm in her former hometown of Del Mar, California. Since then, she has grown the company to become one of the largest promotional product companies in the world, developing customized marketing strategies and promotional products for such companies as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, London Fog, Nokia and Boston Scientific, as well as several local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Whatcom County and the Semiahmoo Yacht Club.

Hazard, who earned her bachelor of arts degree in economics from Arizona State University and a masters of arts degree in international business administration from National University in San Diego, California, worked as a senior corporate marketing agent for such firms as Anthony Robbins Companies, Mitchell International, IIR Publications/Midrange Computing, and the Maintenance Warehouse, the parent company of Home Depot prior to starting her own business.
In 2003, she and her husband, John Baldwin, moved to Blaine when he was offered a healthcare management job in the cardiac division of St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham. When asked why the couple decided to move to Blaine, Hazard said she and her husband – who are both avid boaters – fell in love with Blaine because of its waterfront location as well as the friendly community and its perceived sensitivity to the environment.

“We fell in love with Semiahmoo and the community here,” she said. “It reminds me of how Del Mar was 20 or 30 years ago.”

Shortly after relocating, Hazard met her current business partner and vice president, Candi Johnson, of Blaine, at a Semiahmoo Yacht Club function that Johnson organized.

Hazard said she was impressed with Johnson’s background in sales and her experience in event planning for her husband’s former employer, Snap On Tools.

Today, the company connects its diverse client base with a selection of more than 750,000 promotional products and offers marketing services such as strategy, design, copywriting, research and analysis with Johnson focusing on the Blaine and Birch Bay area clientele and Hazard dealing with national and international clients.

“It’s a very big business,” Johnson said. “Nina does an amazing amount of business. Meanwhile, I work more in developing the local clients. I’m the one you’ll most often see at the chamber of commerce meetings.”
For more information about Hazard Promotions and Adventures in Advertising, visit www.hazardpromotions.comor call 866/222-0081.