Awards

Who doesn't love that little scratch behind the ears? The pat on head? That little shake of the pouch of deliciousness when we do a good job?

A little plaque with your name on it...

A crystal award with your name laser etched for all time?

Or maybe just something as small as a "year of service" pin?

All are great ways to let others know that they are appreciated and valued.
And employees and customers who feel valued are WAY MORE likely to stay where they are, and isn't that what we all want?

I am sure Matt has lots of other ideas of ways to say thank you if you have the need.

Until next time...

Calendars

I have discovered that you humans tend to be very concerned with what day it is.
Personally I attack my food and nap schedule with the same gusto regardless of what day of the week it is.

But for those of you who like to track the days, a custom calendar is a great way to do that.

Matt has access to all kinds of calendars.... Big ones that go on the wall. Little ones that sit on your desk. He even has some magnet ones that stick on the refrigerator.

You can get ones with cute cuddly creatures...

To classic designs....

You can also get barns, cars, tractors, sunsets, flowers... there are lots and lots of different options.
And they are all good for a full year, so a great value when looking to get your name in front of people for 12 months at a time.

Holiday gifts

The Human Matt has started getting boxes of Holiday catalogs... which means two things..

#1. The stupid delivery guy keeps ringing the doorbell and waking me up from my mid-afternoon/pre-dinner naps...

#2. Things are going to start getting busy with planning for the end of the year for all the customers.

So if you have a need for holiday gifts or year-end thanks you's for customer and clients now would be a good time to start looking. Waiting until the very end of the year can cause problems for both you and my humans.
Like those famous after Thanksgiving sales... items may sell out and be gone by the time you get there.  "So shop early for the best selection" is what the TV always says.

Oh, and speaking of the Holidays.... I promise if we can get a tree again this year, that I won't try to climb it....

Nametags

The humans are always working on nametags for different customers.
They say that these are a great way to help people and their employees get recognized and can be much more cost effective than going with a full-on embroidered garment.

Each one is personalized to the wearer and can be transferred from shirt to shirt without poking holes (you humans and your clothes) since they use a strong magnet on the back to hold them in place.

They can come with or without the little chrome frame.
If you like the chrome frame it limits a little the sizes and shapes you can do.

If you don't need the frame, you can be much more creative with your shapes (like that yummy looking fish there).

There also also a wide variety of colors and finishes to choose from.

Just another great idea that Matt can help you with to get your name out there!

Until next time...
- Nala

Great-Grandpa John - a little history

I have been able to piece together some of the history of Accurate Promotions after listening in on lots of conversations between Matt and the human female (called Jen).

It sounds like the company was originally started by Jen's Grandfather, John back on 1982... which is about 3 lifetimes ago... so I can't even comprehend how long 37 years is!

It turns out that Great-Grandpa John was born right here in Grand Rapids and attended something called Creston High School, where they apparently taught him lots of things.
Great-Grandpa John joined a group that called themselves the 201st Military Police company in 1942 and went over to Europe for about three years. He came home with a couple of fancy ribbons and a flag that Matt keeps in his office.

When he got back from Europe Great-Grandpa John and his brother started a small grocery store here in Grand Rapids. "It was a small operation with no budget for advertising. My brother and I would take turns standing on the corner in our work aprons to let people know we were open!"

John and his brother sold the grocery story in 1953, and he went to work for the company that makes Karo Syrup. (I don't know what a Karo is... but supposedly it sells pretty well). Great-Grandpa was able to work from starting as a salesman all the way up to regional manager.

After working a food broker for a couple other companies, he decided to start selling embroidered patches to local motorcycle clubs. Which grew to classic and collector car clubs. From there they started selling to companies directly.
The business grew to include screen printing as well as embroidery and patches.

Great-Grandpa John was quoted as saying, "The secret to success in business is providing quality, service, and price.  If you provide the best of these to your customers, you will never have a major business problem".

Great-Grandpa John passed away at the age of 70 in 1991. But his daughter Michele (grandma Michele to me) took over the company and continued to run it.


Great-Grandpa John, in addition to the grocery store he started with his brother, and the embroidery company, also started a bicycle shop and an ice-cream parlor here in Grand Rapids.

It sounds like Great-Grandpa John was a great guy, and I wish I could have gotten to meet him.

That's pretty much the history as I know it for the beginnings of the company and Great-Granpa's story.

But that only gets us to the early 1990's... so I am sure there is more to come.
Stay tuned, and I'll see what information I can find about the "middle years".
Thanks for following along so far.

Nala