For one week only (September 1-7) our new Round Weighted Base Trophy is available on the web for the special price of $5.95.  Choose any top and design your own free engraving!  For those of you that may not have read our new athletic catalog or checked out the new trophies, there are figurines available for just about every sport (from riding to volleyball to bowling and everything in between), as well as tops for academic achievement, music, dance and other activities.

The trophy discount is only available on the web, and cannot be combined with any other offers. Standard minimum order still applies.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesistate to contact Customer Service at 1-800-556-2440.

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Do you have photos of Hodges ribbons from a fair, horse show, or other competition you’d like to show off?  I’d love to share them on the blog.  Send an email to info@hodgesbadge.com with “blog” in the subject line.

When I asked Carma what she was surprised by when learning about our products (all of our office employees go through a full factory training), she said she would never have guessed at the number of hands that are required to create and assemble each product.   She also admits to laughing at some of the more creative designs that make their way onto ribbons.  For example, what do you call a wombat holding a baseball bat?  Just batty?

Outside of work, Carma keeps busy as an active reader (she prefers suspense author Sandra Brown) and accompanies her 13 year old son on frequent Boy Scout activities.  When I asked her if she goes camping, she said yes, but then honestly added, “reluctantly.”  Like many other Hodges employees, Carma is an animal person, with a Lab, Australian shepherd, miniature sheltie, miniature pinscher and Siamese cat.  While none of her pets are show dogs, she says they would be in the running for the Most Disobedient Dog rosette. Hmm… that gives me an idea for our next dog catalog!

Have a question that our reps could answer?  Leave a comment or send an email to info@hodgesbadge.com

Next week, we’ll be heading to the American Swim Coaches Association World Clinic in Indianapolis.  We’ll be set up at booth 513 in the trade show hall all day Wednesday to Friday, as well as Saturday morning.

Anyone who stops by is eligible to enter to win a $100 Hodges Badge gift certificate.  We’ll have samples of our brand new swim trophies and medals, and we’ve also got tons of our multicolor swim class fish ribbons to give away. 

So if you’re a swim coach heading to Indy, we’ll be glad to meet you.  And if you know a coach heading to the Clinic, tell them they’d better stop by!

For those of you that are not familiar with the IEA, the organization enables middle and high school riders to compete on a team representing their school or barn.  There are teams all over the country which host shows competing in English, Western, and, new this year, Saddleseat disciplines.  Similar to the IHSA , students ride unfamiliar horses that are provided by the show and drawn at random. 

So, if you’re involved with the IEA, what does this announcement mean?  First, we’ve got the IEA logo ready to use on ribbons and awards, and it’s available to you at no extra cost.  Second, we’re got all the show supplies you need and are here to help!

On my first factory tour, I remember being surprised at just how much labor was involved in creating our ribbons, rosettes, medals and other awards.  Now I will get to be on the other side of the group, explaining how we hand-sew rosette tops, attach their centers, print on streamers, and assemble a finished product.  Visitors should also see the laser engraver and digital printer used for multicolor ribbon in action.

If you’re reading this and are visiting Newport for the conference, please let us know what questions we can answer.  And if you’re not part of NEMOA but are interested in finding out more about a tour for a school group or other organization, please let us know.  Leave a comment or send an email to info@hodgesbadge.com

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My name is Jeff, I’m a rising senior in high school, and this is my third summer working just about full time at Hodges Badge. I’ve been coming to Hodges and doing odd things for as long as I can remember, but for the past three years I’ve been doing some real work. I started out working on web pages and e-mails two summers ago and last summer I got a really cool job as we began work on our new website. 

I spent most of the summer (while my friends are at the beach) on two projects; Scene7, a dynamic imaging platform from Adobe that we now use to deliver all of the product images on our website , and a rosette configurator that will enable customers to preview their custom products before placing an order.  Every couple of weeks I’ll manage to find something really tough which needs some work, and usually I manage to figure it out after going back to it a few times. 

Working in the family company is interesting because I don’t work directly for my dad but I get to see him at lunch and at meetings. Being a family business, almost everyone in the Hodges family has worked here at one time. Before my sister went of to college, she spent at least two summers working here.   I know it might seem like I am obligated to return to Hodges when I’m done with college, but at the same time I’m not sure that’s what I want to do. When my dad got out of college he had another job outside the company, but when his dad wanted to retire he ended up packing up his brand new house in New Hampshire and coming back to Rhode Island to work at Hodges. So I guess we’ll see what happens.

This summer I began the college search process, and just last week I got back from a weeklong trip through the mid-Atlantic and semi-Southern colleges. Spending a week in the car wasn’t the most pleasurable thing I’ve done all summer, but it wasn’t all bad.  I did see some schools that I liked and I got visit my cousins in South Carolina. I do have a bit of an issue with the college search in that I really don’t know what I want to study.  In the end, I think my decision will probably be based on what I happen to enjoy that doesn’t really feel like work.

Well, now you know a little bit about me and what it’s like at a family-run business.  Feel free to drop me any questions (or suggestions for colleges) in the comments.

Next week, I’ll be driving down to Hartford, Conn. for the 2010 USA Gymnastics Congress & Trade Show.  Held in conjunction with the competitive Visa Championships, Congress is three-day (Thursday-Saturday) mix of educational sessions, guest speakers, shopping, and even a Hall of Fame induction complete with Olympic medal winning inductees. 

I’m excited to show visitors many of the brand new awards Hodges Badge has to offer for gymnastics, cheer and dance.  The medals, plaques and trophies are so new that I can’t even show them to you yet- watch for the 2011 Athletic catalog mailing next week, or click here to request one.

There’s also the Mega Raffle- where industry suppliers have banded together to offer over $65,000 in prizes.  No individual winner gets a prize valued at less than $2000.  We’ve thrown four $250 Hodges gift certificates into the mix.

Are you heading to Congress? Let me know in the comments.

In the early 1960s, our catalog was really a 24 page pamphlet

Products sold in 1964 included individually lettered felt banners and 3-streamer ribbons

In the pre-computer era, we used illustrations to demonstrate how to use products like this flagpole ribbon

These fair rosettes were probably just as popular as horse show rosettes at the time. Also note the metal rosette centers.

We didn't even have an order form until the 1970s. This letter was used to demonstrate how a customer should request their ribbons.

Catalogs in the late 60s and early 70s used a variation on this cover with a diagonal row of stock designs.

By the mid 70s catalogs were in full color and some of the products (like the Beauty) more closely resemble what we produce today.

In the 80s and early 90s we manufactured European style rosettes.

Is there any particular product  or catalog you remember from years past?  I’ll do my best and attempt to dig it up for the blog!

Come July, the produce has become so plentiful that the cafeteria has turned into a veritable farmstand.  Loaded up with cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, green beans, and broccoli, the tables offer up fresh vegetables to any employee who wants them.  The peppers and tomatoes tend to go quickly, but people are hesitant to pick up the 28 inch zucchini or six pound squash.  Not that I blame them– what do you do with that much squash?!  We are still waiting for the cantaloupe, watermelon, carrots and onions to grow bigger, but they should soon join the pile.

Contenders for 'biggest vegetable' filling an 8 foot table

Some employees put in some time in the garden in exchange for picking their own produce.  Others have simply gone out to gather some fresh vegetables for dinner because nobody has had time to pick them all.  Either way, it’s been a great way to get a little sun on your lunch break and bring home some fresh food for dinner.