www.wvawards.com is introducing a line of engraved plates in various sizes and styles that can be used on gift awards, art objects, picture frames and other applications. Most of the plates are black brass, which has become the most popular choice for engraved plates.

Choose an engraved plate from the very popular Florentine style. These black custom engraved plates have a beautiful gold border that accents the engraving. These plates come in several sizes to fit your needs: Engraved Black Brass Plate is 2” x 3 ½”, Engraved Metal Plates is 2 ½” x 4 ¼”, Engraved Recognition Plate is 3” x 5”, and Engraved Award Plate is 4″ x 6″. The plates all have tape on the back for an easy “peel and stick” attachment.

Other personalized plates include the Custom Engraved Plates and the Brass Plates with Engraving. They are black with a plain gold border in sizes 2 ¼” x 3 ¼” and 7/8” x 2 ¾”. The smaller plate also has the option of adhesive or a hole each end for screw attachment.

Other engraved plates that we offer include plastic plates that look just like brushed brass and aluminum. These plates have become very popular because they have the look of metal, but with more vivid lettering. Another reason for their popularity is that the plates are thin and flexible, so that if the surface they are attached to is slightly uneven, they will not pop off like metal plates do. We offer these plates in 2 3/8” x 3 ¼” Engraved Flexi Plate, and 1 ½” x 3” Engraved Flexi Plates. These two feature notched corners and a line border that is very attractive. The other style of flexible plate is the Metal Look Engraved Plates. It is ¾” x 3” for 1 or 2 lines of engraving. This small plates work well for clocks, photo frames, or other awards and gifts that have limited space for engraving.

We also included Engraved Plates with Options. There are 3 choices for height, and width of plate, square or notched corners, tape or holes each end with screws, as well as choice of font. These options allow you to build your own plates as you want them.

We hope you will find a plate style and size that will fit your needs. All plates include a choice of font style and most have additional options for you to choose from.

We have numerous gift awards for Presidents, both incoming and outgoing. The top of the line is the President’s Crystal Gavel Award on a black crystal base, a fabulous choice for that special leader. Other gavel sets include the President’s Gavel Set displayed impressively in a wooden gift box lined in royal blue, and the Director’s Gavel Set, presented in a display box with a clear lid. We also have gavel plaques to honor the president. Check out the President’s Gavel Plaque Award, a 9”x12” walnut plaque with gavel and plate, a very traditional choice. Or, choose the rich look of rosewood, shown in two choices, the President’s Rosewood Gavel Plaque Award, and the Gavel Plaque.

Separate gavels and sounding blocks are available to fill your needs. We have 8” and 10” walnut Leadership Gavels, a rosewood gavel 10”, and Gavel Sounding Blocks in walnut and rosewood.

Consider a piece of art glass if you are looking for a unique gift award that will also display as a piece of art, or room décor. The art glass pieces all have unique shapes and colors with engraving areas on the base for a special message of honor or appreciation. Try the colorful and uniques To the Top Award or the Art Glass Salute Award. These art glass gift awards offer a wonderfully different way to honor corporate employees. Other art glass that looks more traditional are the Crystal Wave Gift Award and Crystal Flame Gift Award. Both are large impressive pieces that will show honor and appreciation to the high achievers in your company.

Need a corporate gift award that is more traditional? Try the star and eagle awards. The 24K gold plated Rising Star Gift Award is an excellent choice. It is mounted on a black marble base that includes your special message of laud and honor. The Shining Star Corporate Gift Award and the Appreciation Award Star, are also mounted on black marble bases and are excellent choices for your next awards ceremony. The Corporate Eagle Award is another more traditional corporate gift award, as are the Award Clock with Pen and the Personalized Desk Clocks with Pens.

Honor select staff members with The Employee of the Month Key Chain. It will always be a reminder of the hard work and effort that was recognized. The Goodwill Key Chain, or handshake key chain is a great choice for corporate team achievement.

The Bamboo Coaster Corporate Gift set and the Engraved Pen and Case set can be used for employee appreciation or customer appreciation. Also, check out the In Appreciation Gift Mug and the Appreciation Sports Mug Awards. These mugs are good coaches awards, employee awards, customer awards, and are even used as competition awards. They can be filled with candy, coffee, flowers or other items to make them even more personalized.

A very special gift award is the traditional Apple for the Teacher Gift Award for that special teacher. The Apple Appreciation Gift Award features a quartz clock, which makes it very useful as a desk item.

Sport display cases make nice awards and gifts. Present the team winning ball in a Basketball Display Case with an engraved plate, or present a commemorative ball in the Baseball Display Case as a gift to someone special. All of the cases, including The Football Display Case include an engraved plate noting the importance of the ball on display.

Browse through our selection of gift awards and corporate gift awards. You will find a wide range of prices to fit any budget. You will also find a selection of traditional gift awards, as well as the unique and unusual, and we hope you will find just the right items to fit your needs.

The next most popular name plates are the 2” x 10” size like the ones above in a desk name plate holder. They also come with a wall nameplate holder. All holders are sold separately.

We also offer a variety of nameplate wedges in 8” and 10” sizes and several color choices of wood. See the engraved desk nameplate in walnut. We have both 8” and 10” sizes, with 2 color choices for the nameplate. The business name plate is in red alder for those who want a light color wood. The red alder corporate nameplates also come in a 10” size.
Custom business name plates come in a rich black piano finish and are 8” long. The corporate name plates are the same style, but 10” long. Or, you may choose the custom nameplate that is rosewood piano finish at 10” long. The desk name plate rosewood, also comes in an 8” length. All of the wedges have a choice of a black, or blue marble brass nameplate with one or two lines of engraving included in the price.

We will continue to add more products to the Corporate Nameplate group, so that we can accommodate your needs in corporate recognition.

Let us look at the rosewood piano finish clocks. Engraved gift clocks are very popular. The arched clock has a black brass plate for a simple 3 line message. The personalized desk clocks are practical awards for anyone’s desk with its’ low profile. The engraved desk clock with it’s rectangular shape is also a good choice. The customized desk clock makes a nice award. The message of appreciation or recognition is a constant reminder of their accomplishment and therefore a good morale booster.

The mantel desk clock award will honor your recipient with its special message displayed on a mantel or shelf for all to see. Or, consider the arched desk clock with free engraving. Whichever one you choose it will help accomplish your goal of honoring each recipient and making them feel special.

Perhaps you would like to choose an award clock that includes glass with rosewood. The appreciation award clock make an eye-catching gift or award. The main body of the clock is rosewood with both clear and smoked glass that accents the sides. Another choice is the engraved quartz clock that features the clock encased in glass with beveled rosewood columns. Or choose the glass appreciation clock award which is mostly glass with a rosewood piano finish base. This one is always popular.

If your words of honor and appreciation cannot be said in 3 lines, the larger acrylic clock awards will give you much more room to express your message. Also, this clock award has coordinate acrylic awards to honor other recipients. The matching acrylic awards make an impressive group at your awards ceremony.

Consider the rich look of mahogany for your next award ceremony. Each clock style is accented with smoked glass, and gold and silver clock faces. They are also individually boxed with batteries included. Check out the arched corporate clock, the engraved retirement clock, the executive gift clock or the one I like to call the house clock. Because of its shape, it would make a great realtor of the year award or house warming gift.

Perhaps you would like a clock that is very sturdy looking. The engraved grand piano clocks might be just the right choice. The unique clock faces are set in rosewood piano finished bases that are hefty with the personalized mantel clock weighting the most at 3 ½ lbs! The corporate recognition clock is a step arch clock, and the award clocks with free engraving is the smallest of the group, but still very substantial looking.

For a totally different look, check out the service award clock, and the recognition clock award. The pale red alder is a nice alternative for those who prefer lighter woods.
We have a clear acrylic award clock that is simple but elegant. The logo and message show up well on this clear 1” thick clock award.

Functional clock awards are enhanced even more when pens are included. These make practical awards for anyone who spends a lot of time at their desk. The award clock with pen, includes a plate for a brief message. The personalized desk clocks with pens is a beautiful desk item, very practical and with a plate for the important message of honor and appreciation.

Do you need a promotional clock for your clients to let them know you appreciate their business? The small silver promotional clock can include your logo and a brief thank you message.

We hope you will find award clocks and gift clocks that fit all of your needs. Browse through our selection and choose the ones that fit you needs the best. Most of the clocks are individually boxed and include batteries.

Browse through our selection of acrylic awards and choose the ones that are just right for your employees. Whether you are honoring your employees for helping to save the company from disaster, or they have just reached their first milestone as a new hire, you can make them feel appreciated and honored by the awards you choose for them.

The first grouping of acrylic awards we feature is the every popular star-themed ones. Check out the Rising Star Acrylic Award. It has a large engraving area for your special message of recognition or appreciation. The clear acrylic plate stands in a rosewood piano finish holder with a cast metal star to the left. This is an award that will make your employees feel special.

A group of awards that work well for several levels of recognition is the Star Column Acrylic Awards. The clear column features a gold star on top. The base is black acrylic with a gold-mirrored top that radiates color accents through the column for a classy look. The smallest acrylic award is a 7”single column, followed by a 9” and 11” acrylic service award or acrylic appreciation trophy . For the highest achievers, try the two star column acrylic award, or the three star acrylic award.

The Luminary Star Acrylic Award is one of our favorites. The black engraving area is set off by gold or blue accents that radiate from the beveled edges of the star. In the proper lighting, the star will almost glow with color!

The Sculpted Star acrylic awards come in 3 sizes and 2 color accents, blue or gold. The three size variations give you the option of awarding 3 levels of sales achievement, or number of years of service to the company.

Other star acrylic awards include the single 5” star, an acrylic star on a base, and an acrylic star obelisk. These could be used individually or as a coordinated group to honor your employees for various levels of accomplishment.

Your may prefer acrylic awards that have attached bases. We have them with matching bases, and mirrored bases with color accents that enhance the award. The White Cap Acrylic Trophies have a matching base that blends with the award and helps accent the frosted top. The Waterfall Acrylic Awards are a coordinate group similar to the White Caps and could be selected for a different level of award for your next award ceremony. The Cracked Ice Acrylic Award is another that has a matching base that blends in with the piece to help emphasize the icy looking edges. The Jade Diamond Acrylic Award, as above, has a matching base to give emphasis to the diamond shape where the special message is engraved.

The other style of bases is the mirrored ones with color accents that radiate throughout the piece. The color accents add an attractive and eye-catching feature to each corporate award. The Optima Acrylic Awards and Beveled Peak Acrylic Awards have black bases topped with gold mirror that sends golden reflections upward to make them very rich looking. The Frosted Impress Acrylic Trophies have a black base with blue mirror that sends blue rays to the frosted top.

Free-standing acrylic awards have become very popular. They also come in many shapes, sizes and colors. The Shell, Round, and Fan shapes are clear with blue or gold accents. They all come in 3 sizes and are versatile for any type of award your may require. Other freestanding acrylic trophies have colored engraving areas for a more vivid display of the important award message. These include the Octagon Acrylic Recognition Award that comes in blue, red, or green marble and 3 sizes. Another group is the Rounded Top Stars and Stripes Acrylic Service Award. They feature a black engraving area trimmed with a patriotic red, white and blue theme. This same style of award comes with marbled accents in red, blue and green. Yet more freestanding acrylic achievement awards include the Premier Group. They feature a rectangular tower with clean, simple lines, and blue accents radiating from the base. Also, check the Acrylic Award Facet Wedges that are 1 ¼” thick with a choice of gold or blue accents. They are perfectly sculpted for the display of color throughout the piece. The Marquis Diamond acrylic award is beveled and peaked, and is accented with a base that includes either a red, blue or gold splash of color. And last, but not least, we have the 3D Magnetic Acrylic Award. It is quite versatile with engraving or even a photo that can be inserted between the clear front and the black backing plate, giving it the 3D special effects.

The acrylic awards that sit in frames have a completely different look. The standing frames add color and texture to the acrylic inserts that hold your special engraved message. We have several styles with rosewood piano finish frames. One of these is the Prestige Acrylic award in 3 sizes. The ½” thick clear acrylic insert slides into the sturdy rosewood base, and is adhered to the base with double-faced tape. Another rosewood frame group has 2 styles and several sizes. Two of the pieces are arched acrylic awards with a gold metal inlay in the frame that provides a nice accent color. These corporate acrylic awards are 9 ¾” and 11” tall, and have a large engraving area for your special message. The other style is rectangular with a small peak at the top of the acrylic. They sizes are 8 ½”, 9 ½”, and 10 ½”. All of the Rectangular acrylic awards have clear adhesive for easy attachment to the base. These pieces are individually boxed and free engraving is included.

A different style of framed acrylic awards is the Midnight acrylic group. They feature a black acrylic base with “wings” to indicate victory or achievement. The 3/8” clear acrylic slides into the holder and remains unattached.

Another style of framed holders is the Roman Column acrylic. The black Roman columns are made of heavy resin for a classic look. The clear arched acrylic is ½” thick and holds the special message for your recipient. The acrylic insert adheres to the base, and the Roman Column acrylic award is individually boxed.

Our acrylics include acrylic clock awards. The clocks are part of the rosewood frame group and make nice coordinate awards to enhance your presentation ceremony. Each clock award is in a rosewood piano finish base with the acrylic piece permanently attached with adhesive. The clocks include a battery and each clock award is individually boxed.

An acrylic clock award with clean, simple lines is the Premier Acrylic clock. It is free standing, 1” thick acrylic with a high quality gold metal quartz clock. The Premier clock and the others mentioned previously, make great awards for many occasions.

The choices of Corporate Acrylic Awards are many and varied, from clear to very colorful, free standing to sturdy bases, and small to large engraving areas. Make your selection according to your particular taste and requirements for engraving space. We at wvawards.com hope you will enjoy browsing through the awards to find just the right ones for your top performers.

The first group of plaques we will look at, are the solid walnut plaques with scalloped corners. They also have plates with scalloped corners to match the shape of the plaques. Plate color choices are black or green marble. There are 6 sizes ranging from a 6″x8″ award plaque to a 12”x15”corporate plaque. With so many sizes to choose from, it is great to use these for years of service awards from 5 years on up to 30 years. Or, they could also work well for sales awards, using graduated sizes for certain sales achievement. If you don’t need all 6 sizes, choose the number of sizes you do need and award those to your employees. For example, choose 7”x 9” for salesman of the month plaque, 8”x10” for salesman plaque of the quarter, and 9”x12” for salesman of the year plaque. These increasingly larger plaques will show the degree of accomplishment by the size of the award. Recipients should be motivated to earn all 3 sizes and they will value the awards for many years to come.

We have classic plaques that are nice traditional pieces to present for recognition awards, appreciation plaques, or other achievements to be honored. The genuine walnut plaque group has a tapered edge and a silk-screened plate with a glistening border that enhances the entire plaque. This group of 3 plaques can be used together or separately, and the plate colors include green marble, blue marble, and black. Even if you just need one plaque that says ‘In appreciation for help with a special corporate project’ you can order it on line at the click of a button. Free engraving and 1 logo are included in the price.

Another classic plaque group uses the same plate style mounted on a step-edge walnut plaque. This plaque is a little more economical and offers our business customer a choice in price. This group has 4 sizes from 7”x9” appreciation award plaques to 10”x13” service award plaques. Again, it is a nice traditional plaque style that can be used for any recognition award to honor your hard working staff members.

We have a second group of engraved plaques in which we have mounted the plates on walnut plaques and on cherry finish plaques, with the latter offering an even greater savings for you, the customer. First, take a look at the solid walnut plaques with the golden ray plates. These are one of our most popular plaque groups, especially with blue marble plates. The golden rays give a new dimension to the plaques and make them a crowd pleaser. The plates come in green marble and red marble as well. Using these same plates, take a look at the economy cherry finish plaques. These plaques now become a crowd pleaser for those on a tight budget, who still want an attractive, quality plaque.

Let us switch to a plaque group that is not so traditional. The high gloss American Walnut plaque comes with a “wave” plate that has black accents in the wave portion, and either a green marble or a blue marble plate where the wording will be shown. These plaques come in 3 sizes and, of course, can be used individually or in groups of awards. These eye-catching award plaques are a popular group and you should consider them for your next awards ceremony.

Need to recognize the top star or star performer in your group? We have plaques with star themes that would be perfect for the occasion. The Rising Star Acheivement Plaques feature a star that has risen to the top, emphasizing star achievement. The walnut plaques have a step n’ roll edge and set off the plates nicely. Plate colors include black with gold, green marble with gold, and blue marble with gold. Another group for top performer plaque awards are the walnut plaques that feature starbursts in the top and bottom corners. Again, these star themed plaques fulfill the purpose of honoring your top stars and top performers. Plate color choices are red/gold, green/gold, and black/gold.

Now let us move away from walnut plaques to black piano finish plaques. These engraved award plaques have a hard, high gloss finish that really accents the patina marble plates attached to them. Plaques have a black felt backing for added elegance. The plates come in a choice of blue marble, red marble, green marble or black. The unique design of the plate is very striking and will make impressive pieces to have on your office walls.

Besides the black piano finish, we also have Rosewood piano finish recognition plaques for awarding your employees. These plaques have a rich dark reddish brown finish and can be used for appreciation plaques, recognition plaques and achievement plaques. One of my favorite combinations is a Rosewood piano finish recognition plaque with a red marble plate. It is a perfect match and looks so luxurious.

We also have some very unique Rosewood and black piano finish plaques that have clear acrylic plates suspended above the surface of the plaque. The Rosewood piano finish plaque comes with gold hardware and the black piano finish with silver accessories. These acrylic award plaques have keyhole slots so that they will hang either vertically of horizontally on the wall. They also come with a peg that can be attached to the lower back, so the plaque will stand on a desk or shelf. These plaque awards come in 2 sizes, 8”x10” or 9”x12”, and free engraving with 1 logo is included in the price.

Do you want the absolute latest in plaque awards? Try our “Green” bamboo plaque. Bamboo is a certified renewable resource and is “the perfect award for environmentally conscious organizations.” The bamboo award plaque comes in 6 sizes from 6”x8” to 12”x15”, with engraving done right into the surface of the plaque for a “burnt wood” look. Plaques are ¾” thick and have keyhole slots on the back, so they can be hung vertically or horizontally. Plaques are individually boxed.

We have a lot of choices in color, style, size, and price in our corporate plaque awards. Please feel free to browse through all of them to make the selection that best fits your needs. You can enter your wording on line, or Email it separately. Watch for new and different plaque groups that we will be adding in the future. Many plaques remain popular for years, so if you like something more traditional, choose a classic style plaque, otherwise watch for the new and different as they are introduced into our line of corporate awards.

Recycling has become routine for us at wvawards.com. The Eugene/Springfield area, located in western Oregon, has always been environmentally conscious and the area has convenient recycling centers for our three biggest “waste” products, which are cardboard, plastic bags, and newspapers, which come as packaging from our suppliers. Others materials we need to recycle are packing peanuts, metal and plastic scraps, old catalogues, office paper, and occasionally, glass and acrylic pieces. Over time, we have gotten more efficient at reusing and recycling items, and our suppliers have improved the packaging so there is less waste.

The 3 biggest waste products are fairly easy to reuse or recycle. Newspapers are reused in shipping orders out to customers, the excess goes to the local Eugene Mission who has drop boxes all over the Eugene/Springfield area. Many of the cardboard boxes that our products come in, can be used to hold customers orders. Excess boxes are broken down and taken to one of two convenient recycling centers we have near by. They are Bring Recycling and Rexius Forest Products. Rexius Forest Products sets a wonderful example for businesses to recycle and protect the environment. They have drop boxes for a variety of recyclables. Most of our plaques, and trophy parts, come in plastic bags, so we have lots of them, and in many sizes. Some we reuse for customer products, but the rest go to the same recycling centers mentioned above.

Other waste products are in smaller quantities, so we don’t have to deal with them on a weekly basis, but can recycle them periodically. These include packing peanuts, which are either reused in shipping or donated to a local office supply place that gladly takes them. Metal and plastic scraps are mostly reusable, since we make a lot of small plates and labels. Office paper is accumulated in a 90 gallon plastic container and picked up when we have it full. Occasionally we have glass pieces that are damaged and those are recycled through the city pick up service. The few acrylic pieces that we discard, we have not found a source that will recycle them.

Another aspect of recycling has just begun in the awards industry. In very recent times, our suppliers are coming up with “Green” products. For example one supplier offers bamboo plaques. Bamboo is a “certified renewable resource,” so it is “the perfect award for environmentally conscious organizations.” Another supplier is offering plaques that are recycled wood from various sources. It’s great to see this happening in our industry.

Yet, another aspect of recycling is from the customer’s point of view: the accumulation of bowling trophies, or your children’s trophies over the years, for example. The good thing is that many people keep their awards for years, even a lifetime. But what do you do with old trophies, plaques and medals when you no longer want them? Some donation centers like Goodwill will take them. Occasionally you will find an awards shop that recycles them; you would need to call and ask. Some of these old awards can be used for humorous awards by putting a new engraved plate on them, and perhaps a new figure. Old plaques can be reused by replacing the old plate with a new plate, but I would advise caution. The old award should be in tip-top condition. Don’t insult your recipient with a dilapidated or outdated award. It can really spoil the awards event.

I must say a final good-by to a long time customer who passed away earlier this month (May 2009) of a heart attack. It will be brief and to the point, just as he was.

He came in the awards shop after Cross Country in the fall and Track & Field in the spring, always prepared with his typed list of top athletes receiving awards, and a box full of perpetual trophies and plaques to be engraved.

About 5 years ago, he came in looking very ill – he was so very thin – I knew something had to be terribly wrong. When I sincerely asked him how he was, he said “Fine!” rather gruffly. I never asked again about his health, although I learned later that he was fighting, and beating throat cancer.
It was interesting how much he told you without saying a lot. He was always upbeat about the athletes and always looking forward to more good seasons in the future. In more recent times, he would pay for the awards himself, noting only in passing, that the budget was tight.

And so, I salute you DeWayne Cantrall, for 33 years of teaching and coaching, for always being so positive, and for being a good person.

I still expect him to walk in the door to order his Track & Field awards. If I could ask him how he’s doing in the great beyond, he would say, “Fine!”