TOM JACKSON, JACKSON MARKING PRODUCTS
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

WE ALL CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALTH OF OUR INDUSTRY, TOGETHER

(August 2020) August is a special time: it’s still summery enough for long nights outside, but the approach of autumn is evident as everyone begins to prepare for the start of the school year and fall sports seasons. However, as I write this, the debate about how students will experience both of those things this year goes on, and we’re all still trying to identify how to tackle the next sales season. Right now, all we can know for sure is that we’re very unlikely to be back to business as usual come September or October—and we might just need to prepare for an anything-but-normal holiday season, as well.

TOM JACKSON, JACKSON MARKING PRODUCTS
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Something To Look Forward To

(July 2020) Our International Awards & Personalization Expo is always held at the beginning of the year to allow for stocking up on the year’s newest products. We’re following the same plan for 2021.

TOM JACKSON, JACKSON MARKING PRODUCTS
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

(June 2020) As I started writing my column, it was with the hope that when this issue hit your mailboxes, things would be very different. We’d be back to “normal”—able to freely see our family and friends, to open our shops to the typical traffic, to turn on the news without hearing the word “coronavirus.”

TOM JACKSON, JACKSON MARKING PRODUCTS
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

OUR INDUSTRY’S VALUES ARE AT WORK IN HONORING RECENT SACRIFICES

(May 2020) As I write this, the COVID-19 pandemic world is drastically changing around us, not just day by day, but hour by hour.

Help Your Customers Celebrate Mom!

(April 2020) Mother’s Day is coming and trust us, whether we are “sheltering in place” or not, Mom still wants to be celebrated! There are several items that you can personalize and offer customers to help them honor the moms in their lives.

Find unique solutions that will put your equipment and creativity to work.

(April 2020) We all know that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to our daily routines and businesses. As entrepreneurs, you know better than most that success depends on your ability to pivot and adjust to a “new normal.”

BY TOM JACKSON, JACKSON MARKING PRODUCTS
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

(April 2020) When I first started to write this column, things felt very different. Although we had been hearing a great deal about COVID-19, the reality of it hadn’t yet hit our shops, employees, and families like it is hitting us now.

Danielle Leber (dleber@AwardsPersonalization.org)

What to Do Right Now to Help Your Business

(April 2020) Although experts frequently advise all business owners to develop emergency preparedness plans, the processes we put into place most often deal with natural disasters like earthquakes or failures in key utilities. But very few companies—large or small—anticipated what would happen during a global pandemic.

By Julie Rogers (jrogers@AwardsPersonalization.org)

Successful professionals share their advice for ensuring your business stays healthy during efforts to stop COVID-19

(March 2020) When coronavirus first spread in China, it was feared the disease would potentially put a crimp in manufacturing of products for our industry’s busy season. Now, amid a pandemic, our worries have shifted.

(March 2020) Gino Zavarella, founder of Gino’s Awards, passed away March 10, 2020. The longtime Recognition Roundtable member, whose business was just outside of Cleveland in Warrensville Heights, OH, was 92 years old.

BY JULIE ROGERS

Many Chinese-Made Products Stocked in US Warehouses

(February 2020) Suppliers have an important message for awards and personalization retailers who are worried about coronavirus’s potential effect on their businesses: “Don’t worry. I’ll be able to cover your demand. There will be no problem.”

KAREN GUZMAN, CRS; IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

GET AHEAD FOR THE NEW YEAR

(January 2020) The Awards and Personalization Association exists to help your business thrive. Everything we do ties back into that one goal. We’re always thinking of ways to provide you with the education, connections, products, equipment, and information you need to be successful, no matter what your business goals are.

BY KAREN GUZMAN, CRS; IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

(December 2019) Have you finalized your plans to attend the 2020 International Awards & Personalization Expo? To join us February 18–21 in Las Vegas, NV, you’ll want to start preparing now!

KAREN GUZMAN, CRS; IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

USE YOUR 2019 DISCOUNTS NOW; USE YOUR 2020 COUPON BOOK AT THE EXPO

(November 2019) Stay tuned for an important industry service announcement: Retailers have just 2 months to save more than $10,000.

That’s right. Your Awards and Personalization Association 2019 Coupon Book offers expire December 31. The discounts it contains are worth more than $10,000, which is a decent chunk of change.

(October 24, 2019) Through many years the Funk and Calcote families have worked together to serve the awards and personalization industry. Over time this relationship has evolved from vendor/customer, to supplier/distributor, to strategically aligned co-distributors, and most recently, partners.

KAREN GUZMAN, CRS; IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

DON’T MISS THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE AND CELEBRATE

(October 2019) Are you ready to recognize?

The Awards and Personalization Association is dedicated to serving the people and companies that personalize a wide variety of products. When our association was founded in California in 1964, the focus was limited to companies that worked specifically with awards.

BY KAREN GUZMAN, CRS, IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

THE EXPO IS ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP FOR 2020; BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM!

(September 2019) As president of the Awards and Personalization Association, I have the inside scoop on our plans for the 2020 International Awards & Personalization Expo.

I have to tell you, I’m pretty excited.

BY JIM O’NEILL, PACESETTER AWARDS

DEBUNKING MYTHS THAT DEVALUE YOUNG ATHLETES' ACHIEVEMENTS

In recent years, we’ve all seen the occasional comedian, blogger, or writer mention participation awards in a negative light. The gist of the negative comments relate to getting something for nothing or rewarding mediocrity, resulting in a “trophy culture.”

KAREN GUZMAN, CRS; IDENTIFICATION PLATES
AWARDS AND PERSONALIZATION ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

LOYALTY MATTERS IN CUSTOMER RELATIONS

(August 2019) Dance with the one who brung ya’.

It’s not modern. It’s not grammatically correct. And the 1920's song that it was pulled from largely has been forgotten. But variations on this phrase often have been repeated—including by the likes of former University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal and President Ronald Reagan—for a reason.