As spring is upon us and the weather is beginning to turn we can all get up, get out and get busy. We've been couped up all winter and now it's time to stretch our legs and enjoy the great outdoors. Go for a walk, get on a bike, take a hike, or if you are really ambitious: sign up for your local marathon!
Getting ready for a marathon requires great discipline and focus and is also a great way to exercise and energize yourself. Earning the medals to add to your collection is a great feeling too, truly a terrific way to cap off the weeks of training. If you are looking for help getting motivated, or finding an activity in your area to get registered with, please check out
www.active.com.
If you are an event organizer in need of creating custom Marathon Medals for your next event, please get in touch with us and we'll be happy to help. Now get out there and get moving, that finish line will only get closer the more you pursue it!
Custom embroidered patches are excellent commemorative pieces for all types of sporting events. One such event is the Skate America competition that takes place in Lake Placid, 
New York.
Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. With winners in the past such as Scott Hamilton and Michelle Kwan this event has grown in scale over the years.
The first Skate America was held in 1979 in Lake Placid, New York and was the test event for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. It was incorporated into the Grand Prix Series in 1995, the year of the series' inception. Entry from Skate America Wikipedia Article article.
We had the honor of creating an embroidered patch for this event to celebrate its 20 year anniversary in 2009. This custom patch made a great piece for not only the athletes, but also the fans.
If you are interested in having a custom patch created for your next sporting event, large or small, contact us for a free quote.
Still think getting “pinned” is old fashion? Far from it. There is no hotter craze or valuable pastime than collecting custom lapel pins. Just ask organizations like the Olympics or Disney who sell tons of logo lapel pins every year. Now you can play with the big boys and make your event or mini-marathon stand out even better.
Most mini-marathons give T-shirts, cups or other mementos that have little value and are soon gone and forgotten. Why not reward your winners, participants and volunteers with unique and recognition lapel pins? Since they signify your event, they will only increase in value and personal memories. What better way to show your appreciation, recognition and sense of achievement than by awarding your most valued participants a unique, custom lapel pin that they can have as a keepsake of their hard work and commitment. One that is proudly worn and not discarded.
While many awards or medals just sit on the shelf for no one to see, a lapel pin can be a constant remember of an outstanding achievement or memorable event. While a T-Shirt will be worn once and get thrown in the junk drawer, a logo lapel pin is a constant promotion vehicle or statement of pride by the winners and participants.
Isn’t time you made your mini-marathon stand out?
Ordering is simple, easy and fast. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to standout from the crowd at a value. Getting “pinned” is not old-fashioned, but the best way to honor and promote your event or mini-marathon.
Challenge coins are often used by police and military to certify unit members. These
custom coins have been called different names over the years such as unit coins or commander coins. The importance of these coins does not lie in the name; it lies in what they represent. To many, these coins stand for hard work, friendships and memories. A specific memory or set of memories are typically associated with each unit’s
custom challenge coin set and the coins help ensure the memories are not lost. We have touched
briefly on the
history of challenge coins with our video blog post and
When Where and Why Challenge Coin post, but let’s take a closer look into the full history today.
There are several different stories on how the
challenge coin originated, but one of the most commonly held views is that the tradition began in the United States Army Air Service. Air Warefare was still relatively new during World War I and most aircrafts were manned by people from an “everyday” walk of life. A wealthier lieutenant ordered small bronze medallions or coins which he gave to other pilots in his squadron to serve as a keepsake of their service together. The custom coin was gold-plated with the squadron’s insignia or logo. One of the pilots was so appreciative of the coin that he put it around his neck in a leather pouch to keep it safe.
The story continues that this pilot’s aircraft was heavily damaged during the war and he was forced to land behind enemy lines. He was captured by the Germans and they took all of his belongings except for the challenge coin he wore around his neck. He was able to escape from the Germans and eventually made contact with French patrol. The French had mistaken him for a German due to the civilian outfit he was wearing as part of his escape from German capture. The French captors were prepared to execute the pilot as he was unable to identify himself. He finally thought to present the coin to the Frenchmen in hopes to confirm his identity. One of the Frenchmen recognized the insignia or logo on the coin and the pilot was able to safely return to his squadron.
Once the pilot returned to his squadron, it quickly became tradition for all members to carry their coin at all times. Other members of the squad would challenge each other to produce their coin. If the coin could not be produced, the challenger was owed a drink by the other member. (revised from Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin)
The tradition continues to grow and there are several rules of the “challenge” that exist among the coin’s history. The one thing that will stay consistent among all stories is the amount of pride members take in their coins and all the memories associated with them.
We provide custom challenge coin packaging and accessories for all of your challenge coin needs. Check out our challenge coin & medals web page for more information.
We have produced many mini badges for law enforcement and public safety personnel over the years. Police Departments typically want a custom lapel pin that is a replica of their police badge. Although smaller than a real badge, a Police mini badge can look nearly identical to the real McCoy. The police lapel pins are worn on the shoulder or elsewhere on the uniform, and can even be displayed in a wallet.
Police mini badges are available in any size or shape, but a 1” lapel pin is the average pendant size. The custom lapel pins are available in gold or silver plated options. Many custom options are available including special finishes, special colors, and the addition of gemstones.
Not only can we create Police mini badges, we have also made many real badges for law enforcement, public safety officers, security officers, correction officers and military professionals. Law Enforcement departments have also contacted us to design and manufacture mini handcuffs, cufflinks, key chains, medals, service lapel pins, patches, coins and other custom Law Enforcement jewelry.
Olympic lapel pins are the ultimate keepsake to mark a piece of history. Each year the Olympics take place, a new set of custom lapel pins become available for the general public to mark the year of the Olympics and specific events. There are even lapel pins available prior to the games actually beginning that are designed to count down the days remaining until the Olympic Games begin.
The history of Olympic pins can be traced back to 1896 with the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. It is reported that judges and officials used cardboard disks imprinted with their titles to serve as their “pins.” Throughout the years, Olympic lapel pins began to grow in popularity and Coca-Cola soon realized the potential of associating their name with Olympic lapel pins. In 1972, Coca-Cola issued its first Olympic pin. Pins continued to grow in popularity and soon thereafter Coca-Cola opened the first Olympic pin trading center. This served as the ultimate venue for lapel pin trading fanatics to trade and collect Olympic lapel pins. At the Olympic games of 1992 in Barcelona, it was estimated that more than
2 million pins were traded by people visiting trading centers such as Coca Cola’s.
With the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver coming to a recent close, there are still plenty of lapel pins available for order. Lapel pins are available to commemorate the record breaking medal count by the USA in the 2010 Olympic Games. Talk about the ultimate keepsake! Presentation is very important when collecting pins - and we have all of the options available for protecting your custom lapel pins with style. Check out all of our
lapel pin presentation options and take advantage of our factory direct pricing. Make the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver an event you will never forget!
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