PlaqueMaker Blog

The warmest season of the year is finally here, so it’s time to find some creative ways to make summer camp fun and safe for kids of all ages. There are plenty of activities to entertain and educate kids during any camp adventure. However, they also need careful guidance and supervision. As such, it’s also important to plan ahead for basic safety measures.

Across the country, folks are dedicating July to celebrate independent retailers in their area – highlighting the positive economic and social impact mom and pop shops make locally, nationally and globally. Independent retailers are the backbone of our communities, and family-owned businesses add diversity along the main streets and places where we come together to live, work and play – like PlaqueMaker! We’re celebrating 15 years this year as a family-owned and operated company, and we’re proud to call Fortville, Indiana our home.

The unofficial start to the summer season is here and that could only mean two things: cheering on your favorite little league team and trips to the cabin at the lake for fishing.

It’s all part of the wildly popular fantasy role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons –D&D for short- a storytelling adventure with at least 20 million enthusiasts worldwide, and counting.

From the school yearbook to military deployment and professional sports championships, whether it’s professionally taken or taken with a cell phone, team photos document “the thrill of victory” that likely lasts a lifetime for every team member pictured. When that competitive spirit shines brightly in each person’s eyes, the meaning of teamwork – the ability to work collaboratively as a group to achieve a goal- gets a high-five. A high tweetable moment, for sure.

Whether your goal is to hold a fundraising event, host clients or stage an employee outing, a golf tournament could be just the event to delight your guests. If you’ve never planned a golf tournament before, you’ll not only need to work closely with the golf course, you’ll want to enlist the help of your own staff and the media to help ensure that the golf tournament runs successfully. By properly outfitting your golf tournament, you could take advantage of free publicity on other golf courses, get name recognition in the tournament and connect your charity or business with a memorable experience.

Established in 1999, the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) helps define America as a positive force in the world. It highlights our increasing outreach to the business community, our public-private partnerships, and our public diplomacy efforts to further corporate social responsibility, innovation, exemplary practices and democratic values worldwide.

Benjamin Franklin understood the importance of giving back to your community. Known as the founding father of American volunteerism, he organizes the first volunteer fire department in colonial times. Today, 62.8 million Americans continue his tradition, volunteering an estimated 20 million hours a year giving back to their communities by serving meals to the homeless, walking shelter dogs, cleaning up national parks and then some. Their service generates the equivalent of $482 million in assistance to organizations and causes near and dear to their hearts.

It also means rewarding everyone involved, from those who excel at the game to Moms in the stands to coaches, sponsors and volunteers working for a win.

As Coach Taylor tells his team in the (shall we say epic) television series, Friday Night Lights, “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose!” Football players, cheerleaders, even coaches and referees. They’re all out there on the field for endless workout and practice sessions –and certainly on game day- getting the job done. Play by play. Game by game.

Usually awarded at the end of a school year, the Student of the Year award recognizes outstanding students who use their natural talents for good – achieving top academic marks while giving back to their school and their community.

One of the top two human resource priorities of any company, organization or enterprise, employee engagement not only makes for happy, satisfied employees, it can positively impact the ability to attain corporate goals. According to Dale Carnegie, the top three drivers of employee engagement are

Those who attend know their company doesn’t have to host an event like this and are likely to be thankful, which encourages a positive return on investment in more ways than one.

Study after study confirms the positive effect of employee recognition programs on a company’s staff at large. Corporate awards programs can also do the company good:

No matter what business you’re in, taking time off from the daily grind, an exhausting commute and the stress of big projects and meetings and deadlines has its advantages. For many, a summer vacation will do the trick. Yet attending the company picnic can work wonders, too.

Our custom engraved granite awards are a PlaqueMaker original! They will look fantastic at your next event, whether it’s a corporate gala, a loved one’s birthday, a living tribute for a family pet or simply for a promotion.

Stumped about what to give your Dad for Father’s Day on June 19 this year? Whether your pop is a grill master, the world’s greatest handyman, the king of the remote, super sports car driver, excellent golfer or just the best-est Father a kid could have, he probably deserves a trophy for that!

So many kids play competitive sports in America that serious sports organizations like the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the Women’s Sports Foundation and others are studying the numbers. For instance, EPSN reports that just nine years ago, roughly 75% of boys and 69% of girls from ages eight to 17 take part in organized sports, playing at least one sport per year. And these totals don’t take into account the kids who start playing before age eight! A growing number of kids are playing sports even before they start going to school. The surprising find is that girls start an average of half a year later than boys, although kids who don’t exercise start later than those who do.