Author: pennadmin

Last week my wife and I watched our younger son graduate from Virginia Tech. There were thousands of graduates receiving all types of degrees – bachelors, masters, and doctorates. For years the graduates spent countless hours going to class, studying in the library, writing papers, making presentations and taking exams so that they could reach this significant milestone in their lives. The commencement speakers reminded the graduates that learning and education continues well beyond graduation day. I completely agree with the commencement speakers. Learning does not stop at this point. Learning should continue on for the rest of their lives.

Fortunately for us learning comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are structured classes and seminars to attend. There are books, magazines, websites, and even blogs to read. There are podcasts and videos to watch. There are informal conversations to have either in person or on-line. The opportunities are endless.

No matter what stage you are at in your life take the time to learn something. It will make a difference in your life and in the lives that you touch. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring and where your new knowledge will take you.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein, Business Consultant and Motivational Speaker

Steve O’Grady

I sat through a training class the other week that dealt with implementing change and the challenges associated with it. Let me state for the record – I am pro change. I believe there is a better way to do things. Our job is to find that better way and implement it. I know it is easier said than done. We tend to cling to what we know. Why upset the apple cart? You’ve either heard or said all of the possible excuses for maintaining the status quo.

I was on a conference call yesterday discussing some important business issue and felt myself clinging to the past. Towards the end of the call I realized that I was consciously migrating to the future. I had convinced myself that taking a leap of faith into something new instead of clinging to the same old same old was the right thing to do. It actually felt exhilarating to make that conscious decision.

So don’t be afraid to buck the system, to fight City Hall, or to go where no one has gone before. Take that leap of faith into the future. You’ll be surprised at what you might find.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“My interest is in the future because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.” – Charles F. Kettering, American Engineer, Inventor

Steve O’Grady

There are a few recurring themes in books and in movies. There’s the girl marries the prince story. There’s good triumphing over evil. There’s someone overcoming personal adversity. You get the idea. We’ve all heard a “life is too short” story. The story comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes but the moral of the story is always the same – life is too short, don’t waste a minute of it.

I played in a charity golf tournament last week with a special person. He had one name on his name tag – like Sting, Bono, Cher, and Madonna. He is a Leukemia survivor.

He spent a full year of his life in the hospital. Prior to being diagnosed with Leukemia his work-life balance was way out of whack – all work and no life. As a survivor he now has a better perspective on things and acts accordingly. His outlook on life was inspiring to listen to.

A friend of my wife’s put that same storyline in a different perspective a few months ago. Her angle was that if you were lucky enough you would live for 85 summers. Do you really want to waste one of your precious summers surrounded by people that are not good for you? I know I don’t. There are too few summers left in my life. I took this summer to really enjoy life. I watched with joy as my older son got married to the love of his life. I watched with pride as my younger son graduated from college and entered law school to pursue his dreams. I played a lot of golf and shot the best round of my life. I spent another summer with my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and my wife. I wish all my summers were that good.

The summer is not over yet. There is still plenty of time to make the most of it and end on a high note.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

“Live like you were dyin’” – lyrics from the song Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw.

A special thank you goes to G. for sharing a day of his life with me.

A special thank you also goes to D.B.S. for providing the inspiration for today’s blog.

Steve O’Grady

 

Several months ago in a Penn Emblem management training session, the moderator asked us a simple question… “What do you do?” Several answers were offered, most taken from our various company mission statements. After our answers – all good ones – she paused and offered, “You sell Pride.”

At the time, I was annoyed that none of us came up with that. I was also struck by the simplicity of the statement. WE SELL PRIDE. Of course we do. As a supplier to the uniform rental industry, our emblems identify workers at hundreds of thousands of companies around the world.

Those people may be delivering goods and manufacturing products, but they are also advertising a company or brand. And they are proudly representing that brand to every person they meet.

We used to kick around an interesting statistic here at Penn… that a uniformed driver for Coca Cola gets seen by an average of 100,000 people per day. I’m not sure how valid that statement is today, but it does make a lot of sense. That driver is a walking billboard for Coca Cola, and the same opportunity exists for other companies who put their employees in identifiable uniforms. That opportunity is to advertise, and show pride to everyone they meet.

Penn Emblem employees are proud as well. We all get a little thrill when our products show up in movies or television shows. We even check out people on the street to see if the emblem they are wearing is a “Penn” emblem. And we know the difference!

I’ll never forget the pride that our entire organization felt when the Philadelphia Eagles wore a Penn Emblem patch on their uniforms for the entire 1992 season, commemorating a teammate who had died earlier in the year. My favorite NFL player, Reggie White is wearing an emblem on his uniform from my company… I was telling everyone I was part of that! Well, not really… but I was in the next room when it was designed. Proud!

One of the definitions of pride is “pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself.” In these examples, pride means that you are part of a bigger picture… that emblem you are wearing advertises your company and secures future business opportunities, therefore driving the economy forward. This is not a stretch… it’s exactly how it works.

So if you are on the job this week as a policeman, an exterminator, a plumber, an auto mechanic, or maybe a TSA agent at the airport… please disregard that person staring at the emblems on your uniform. It’s probably a proud employee of Penn Emblem.

 

About the Author: John Langan is currently Business Services Manager of the ImprintsUSA division of Penn Emblem Company, but has worn many hats in his thirty plus years in the corporate identification business… from screen printer to graphic artist to customer service to marketing director.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Menus have been prepared. Turkeys have been purchased. Pies have been baked. Travel plans have been made. With all the excitement surrounding the holiday it is always a special time of year to reflect on what you are thankful for.

Fortunately I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my job and the people that work hard every day to make this company a success. I am thankful for my parents and the foundation that they provided me. I am thankful for my childhood and the memories Once a year, the elegance of a fundraiser meets the energy of a middle online school at Citizen Schools&#8217 gala A WOW! Affair. that came from it. I am thankful for my two wonderful sons and a brand new daughter-in-law. Most of all I am thankful for my wife, Suzanne, for choosing me to

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It does not matter who you are or what your life story is there must be at least one thing you are thankful for. Most of us are blessed enough to be thankful for more than one thing. Don’t focus on the glass being half empty, or what your neighbors have, or what is missing in your life. Focus on what you do have and be thankful for it.

I’ll let you be the judge. I would love to hear your comments.

Steve O’Grady

January is coming to a close and many of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions. Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. I don’t know how many resolutions are made each year or how many resolutions are broken by year’s end. I guess Google could provide me with the answers but that’s not the point of this blog.inflatable toys australia

My theory is that many resolutions are broken because we set our great expectations too high. I started blogging a year ago and thought that it would be a piece of cake to do. On January 16, 2013 I even posted: “I didn’t think it would be that difficult to write something once or twice a week.” My posting frequency decreased significantly as the year went on. I had never blogged before and clearly set my expectations too high.

Even though I did not achieve the blogging success that I anticipated, I look back on the past year and take comfort in the fact that I tried something new. I take pride in the fact that I wrote with feeling and passion when I did it. I wrote to inspire and to make a difference. I don’t know if I achieved that goal or not but that’s for the readers to decide not me.

I will continue to blog but I have set my expectation at a more reasonable level. If your resolutions are already broken don’t give up just yet. Think about resetting your expectations and continue on.

I would love to hear your comments.

Steve O’Grady

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

No matter what you do in your career or vocation, every one of us has had multiple instances of being stuck. Searching for ideas or solutions, or facing a problem with hands on hips as if a snow white dove will miraculously appear and drop the solution into your empty head.  If you go to Google and type in the words “creative, juices, flowing”, you get will close to two million results that tell you the same things: everything from “take a walk” to “read a book” to “clean your desk” to “”take a shower”… all wonderful suggestions yielding short term results.

Scientists have recently discovered where human imagination comes from, and how we have the ability to think creatively. Researchers say our skill to create, invent and think scientifically comes from a neural network which spreads across a large area of the brain. The findings describe the network as ‘the brain’s ‘mental workspace’” where a person is able to manipulate images, ideas or theories which allows them to focus and come up with even more new ideas.

Lead author of the study Alex Schlegel, a graduate student at the Dartmouth College Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, said, “Our findings move us closer to understanding how the organization of our brains sets us apart from other species and provides such a rich internal playground for us to think freely and creatively.”

This is the point that I interject that I am not a scientist. And I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night either.

But it seems like a pretty easy leap. If something as simple as a single human thought thrives in a larger space with multiple options and environments, wouldn’t a complicated individual such as myself achieve clarity in similar conditions? Easy answer…

I sometimes joke during the winter months that because I start work early and leave late, I have to take other people’s word that the sun came up that day. But I’m fortunate to work for a company that encourages getting out of my windowless office for conferences and educational opportunities. Even if the content of that opportunity disappoints I get to venture beyond the walls and move freely. Maybe I get to interact with creative professionals, or simply breathe the fresh air. Any break from the “same old, same old” invigorates the mind.

However you do it, a change of atmosphere is good. Get out of your old space… play on the swings.

Source for quote: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130916162003.htm

About the Author: John Langan is currently Business Services Manager of the ImprintsUSA division of Penn Emblem Company, but has worn many hats in his thirty plus years in the corporate identification business… from screen printer to graphic artist to customer service to marketing director.

Can you believe that it’s November 26th, hours away from sharing and celebrating one of America’s favorite family holidays, Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday, filled with wonderful traditions: turkey, pumpkin pie, lighting a fire, and of course football. But the best tradition is spending quality time with family, friends and loved ones; reflecting on all that we have to be grateful for. Over the last several months I’ve come to realize that being thankful for things should not be limited to just one Thursday out of the year. It is something we need to focus on every single day because at the very least it will make us happier and better people.

I wanted to share a short story that occurred over lunch with one of my childhood friends a few weeks ago. We were catching up talking about life; where our careers have taken us, what each of our kids (one by one ) has been doing with their lives and what type of pets we now own. Lots of laughs and complaints, but we realized so much has changed since high school graduation and the different roads that we have both gone down.

After several hours of talking about life’s challenges and opportunities and just good fun catching up. As we talked my oldest childhood friend stopped me in mid-sentence “are you comparing yourself to where others are in their lives? You are complaining about things I don’t consider complaints; work is hard, kids are good, etc.” Being the history buff that she is, she kindly said, “let me tell you something Teddy Roosevelt once said, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy,’ Don’t focus on what you don’t have and what your friends do have. Spend your time focusing on where you are, what you do well, and who you are in this very moment. Be thankful for that.”

It was a perfect thing for me to hear, a reminder that things could always be worse. After hearing that I realized I needed to share it so others could be inspired by the same thoughts. I always thought I was thankful and grateful for everything I have and have accomplished as a mom, sister, wife and businesses woman, but this allowed me to think and focus on the things I can bring to the world to create the most positive impact and bring value to others.

I decided to write what I am thankful for today and every day.

· Family
· Friends
· Business
· Health
· Food
· Clothes
· Music
· Movies
· Books

And most importantly myself and the gift of what I can give to others. I remembered to be thankful and grateful for my short list because I realized there are millions of people who would love to do what I do every day and I am appreciative that I am able to do what I do. This is just a reminder to take one day at a time and remember to say “thanks,” show gratitude and be mindful to those we work with; our co-workers, our managers, our family and our friends.

So today and every day I thank you for keeping the lights on, for satisfying our customers and for the ability to celebrate our 68th year in business. And most importantly I thank you for being yourselves and bringing to the company something that only you can bring.

 

Every company wants to differentiate themselves and their products from their competitors. Successful branding gives your company a competitive edge in any market and shows customers what your company represents. These brand connections can build long lasting relationships with consumers creating, healthy profits for corporations.

Image is a crucial part in branding and rings especially true in relation to employees. Employees are the face of your brand and are interacting with customers every day. Uniforms are a common workplace staple creating a cohesive appearance for employees. Ensuring that your brand is represented in these uniforms is essential in establishing awareness of your company.

Develops Brand Recognition

Appearance is the first thing customers see when entering a business and for those jobs that require workers to work outside of the business. A well embellished uniform can showcase a company’s logo and colors all while maintaining a professional image. High-Quality decorated uniforms can show off the prestige of a brand almost immediately, giving customers a positive association with their product.

Builds Trust with Your Customers

A decorated uniform can also create trust with consumers. If a customer receives good service from an employee wearing your logo a positive connection will be made to the company’s brand. Building trust with your customers is crucial to maintaining long lasting relationships. When clients see a company’s logo on a uniformed employee they know they can trust that product or service. With an embellished uniform, there is no question of legitimacy. This is especially important for fields that may need to work out of office such as plumbers and law enforcement officials.

Promotes Team Spirit Among Employees

While an employee wears a uniform they assume an important responsibility representing the organization. Giving employees a sense of importance encourages them to continue being team players. Sporting corporate colors can give a sense of belonging and equality. Embellishing uniforms allows employees to be proud of the logo on their chest.

Whether its building trust with customers or fostering team spirit, embellishing uniforms will help bring a company’s brand to the next level.

 

Penn Emblem Company is the leading provider of emblems, labels, transfers and various other decoration solutions. Find out how to start decorating your brand today by exploring our fully customizable emblem product line today, here.

Looking to expand and get your business connected to your community? Sublimation makes it easy to score with sports teams. With the versatility of blank imprintables, it’s easy to reach out to community sports teams and turn a bigger profit on these products. There are many ways that these items can be used to expand your business to a new and rewarding market.

Awards

Recognizing achievements is a significant part in team sports at any level. Whether it’s at an end-of-year banquet or a tournament, awards give teams a sense of accomplishment and a keepsake to remember their effort. Sublimatable awards can be customized with team, event, and player names with very little additional cost to the printer, making it easy to sell for a higher profit. There are a variety of different blank plaques to choose from, making it possible to reach a variety of different customers.

Fundraising

Many community and school sports teams need to find ways to raise money for trips, events and equipment. Water bottles, bag tags, t-shirts, and mugs are especially good for fundraising because they have practical use (why is practical use important for this?). Blank imprintables can be personalized to the team or school making their perceived value greater and making it easy for both teams and printers to easily make a profit.

Giveaways

Everyone likes to receive free stuff, especially to represent their favorite sports team or school. Team colors, logos, and messages can be printed onto product giveaways with full image reproduction for a low cost. Fans and players can enjoy these products all while increasing the team’s brand awareness. During games, teams can hold contests and give away sublimated imprintables as prizes. Inexpensive options include keychains, magnets, and buttons.

Introducing your business to the team sports industry is easy with sublimation. Reach a whole new audience and help your community sports teams and schools meet their fundraising and giveaway goals.

Everything you need to get started is available from ImprintsUSA, your one-stop-shop for blank imprintables and sublimation systems. Order your blank imprintables and sublimation systems from www.ImprintsUSA.com, a subsidiary of Penn Emblem Company. Email Lynne Kaplan, the sublimation expert, for any questions or inquiries on how to be successful with sublimation.

 

As the new school year starts, schools need ways to show off their brand. Students love to find ways to show off pride for their school whether that’s wearing school colors or showing off their school’s mascot. Sublimated promotional items go hand-in-hand with school marketing.

Expand your business to the school market with sublimation.

Apparel

Who doesn’t want to show off their school colors? Sublimated apparel allows students to show their school spirit. Customized apparel is also needed by school organizations, sports teams, sororities and fraternities. Because designs are printed in full color and fused into the fabric of the garment, they will not crack or fade like other traditional methods. There are many sublimatable garments including hoodies, crew neck sweaters and t-shirts.

 

Rally Towels

Cardboard signs are a thing of the past. Students, parents, and teachers can show their support in the stands during sports games with customizable rally towels. These soft towels can be used as an inexpensive giveaway at sporting events and pep rallies.

 

 

 

Keychains

Keychains allow students to carry their school spirit around with them. Customized keychains with school logos or colors make great giveaways or contest prizes. Because they are so inexpensive, they can also be used as items for fundraisers. With the clean and professional look of sublimation, the perceived value of these keychains is much higher so they can be sold for an easy profit.

 

 

Drinkwear

If anyone loves coffee its students during their academic year. What better way for students to carry their hot drinks than with mugs or travel mugs branded with school logos and designs? These mugs will be successful in any school store or fundraiser with vivid photo reproduction and full customization capabilities.

 

 

Magnets

School magnets are a fashion statement for refrigerators everywhere. Not only can personalized school magnets be gifts for parents to decorate their kitchens, but students can also proudly display them in their lockers at school. Magnets come in a variety of unique shapes and sizes, so the design capabilities are limitless.

 

 

Everything you need to get started is available from ImprintsUSA, your one-stop-shop for blank imprintables and sublimation systems. Order your blank imprintables and sublimation systems from www.ImprintsUSA.com, a subsidiary of Penn Emblem Company. Email Lynne Kaplan, the sublimation expert for any questions or inquiries on how to be successful with sublimation.

 

David Braun, Western Division Sales and Service Director, has played a significant role at Penn Emblem Company for 10 years, bringing a plethora of valuable expertise to Penn Emblem every day. We interviewed Dave Braun as part of our Penn People series, showcasing the many diverse employees that make up the Penn Emblem Family.

What positions have you held here at Penn Emblem?

I have held the position of Western Division Sales and Service Director.

What are your most proud accomplishments?

In 2012 I received the Penn Annual Employee Award.

What are the challenges of your current role, and how do you overcome them?

The competition on a daily basis trying to take our business away and keep us out of their customers is truly the biggest challenge of my role.  I differentiate myself from the competition by pointing out the features and benefits of buying and being serviced by Penn.  For instance, consolidated shipments to save on freight as well as Manufacturing in Mexico to save on emblem purchases and quick turn times.

 What is your favorite part about working at Penn Emblem?

My favorite part of working for Penn is that I don’t feel as though I work for a company, I feel that I work for a FAMILY.

Penn Emblem Company is the leading provider of emblems, labels, transfers and various other decoration solutions. Start your career by checking out our career page for opportunities to join the Penn Emblem Company team.

With Fall right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the upcoming trends for your brand. Whether you are a fashion brand or uniform decorator, these trends can be integrated with your apparel to make sure that your business is on-trend for the coming season.

 Reds

Appearing all over the runways in New York, red is the power color for Fall and Winter 2017. Red is a bold color and can draw a lot of attention to apparel. Consider red when choosing garments for your brand. If too much red doesn’t fit your business, add a pop of color to a garment with patches and embellishments. Because patches are fully customizable, you can choose shades of red that match your company.

 

 

Vintage Inspired

Vintage apparel and patterns have come back for 2017. Darker and more subdued florals add vintage vibes to clothing and are easy to recreate. Heat Transfers, Sublimated Patches and PennFlock™ patches are all printed with full photo reproduction, recreating images in a clean and professional manner. Interested in something a little more classic? Embroidered Patches have been around for years and can be created with vintage colors, fonts and images.

 

Glitter

Your clothes can stand out with glitter patches. Embroidered Patches can be made with glitter fabric and threads, boosting the perceived value of the patch. Glitter always makes a statement!

 

 

 

Clothing with Quotes

What better way to say what you want than with clothing quotes? Light weight, full color Heat Transfers and Direct-to-Garment Screen Printing make it easy to embellish t-shirts with quotes and sayings while still maintaining the comfort of the garment. For more heavy-duty apparel such as jackets and denim, Woven and Embroidered Patches can make quotes and sayings really come to life with bright and vivid colors.

 

Denim

Denim will always be a fashion classic, so why not spice it up with your original brand style? Patches can easily be applied to denim. Add your logo or artwork to your denim apparel to show off your brand’s personality. Adding patches to denim makes that piece fun, youthful and adventurous.

 

 

What’s in style is ever-changing, making it important to stay on top of the trends so your brand doesn’t get left behind. Uniforms are often one of the first things people see when meeting employees or walking into a business. It’s crucial to ensure that garments allow your employees to look and feel their best. Uniform embellishment with new and innovative decoration solutions can easily provide a modern and updated feel to your brand, all while maintaining the brand image.

Add Sparkle

Adding a little bit of glitter to your brand’s embellishments can add an on-trend touch to any design or logo. Using gold or silver glitter can increase a garment’s perceived value, attributing positively to a brand’s reputation and trust. Glitter can also be utilized in hospitality and retail professions to catch the eye of potential customers.

 

Combine Products for Something New

Emblems are fully customizable; which means there are limitless opportunities to create unique decoration for your uniforms. Double the protection for transportation and road workers by combining a High-Visibility product with reflective threads. You can make a plain appliqué pop with some puff embroidery. Almost any emblem technique can be combined or altered to fit your brand’s needs. Penn Combination patches allow for unlimited ways to make sure your brand is on trend.

 

Get a Sublimation Station

With its colorful and vivid full photo reproduction, sublimation can bring brands to the next level. These emblems can be an alternative to traditional appliqués, as they can be hand cut to any shape or size. Sublimation will print your photos in full detail, making sure complex logos or designs are captured on the emblem. With a sublimation printer, a heat press, and blank emblems, you can make emblems in-house for new hire name badges on demand.  Sublimated Emblems are durable and will not crack or fade under harsh working conditions.

 

Penn Emblem Company is the leading provider of emblems, labels, transfers and various other decoration solutions. Find out how to start decorating your brand today by contacting our Customer Support Team by clicking here.

Penn Emblem Company and ImprintsUSA are holding a fundraiser to raise money for the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

All proceeds from the sale of Texas Stock Flag patches will be donated to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, bringing support to those affected. Penn Emblem’s core values are “Do the Right Thing. Do Things Right,” which are ideals expected to be upheld by every process and employee within the company. Our Texas Patches allow you to proudly show your support and give back to a good cause.

Penn Emblem has provided many companies and organizations with high quality, innovative decoration solutions for three generations, and continues to uphold its products and employees to the highest standards every day.

Customers can support Hurricane Harvey relief by visiting the ImprintsUSA website, here or by contacting the Penn Emblem Company Customer Service Team through phone 800-793-7366 or email ssales@pennemblem.com. These patches have a low-melt backing and are home launderable only.

 

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Penn Emblem’s Mira Loma Facility has been accepted into the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism C-TPAT Program.

This certified partnership is a voluntary supply chain security program led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and focuses on improving the security of private companies’ supply chains with respect to terrorism. Penn Emblem Company’s Mira Loma facility is proud to join over 11,400 certified partners across the trade community to work together to play an active role in alleviating risk.

Companies who achieve C-TPAT certification have processes that lessen risk throughout their international supply chains. This allows for expedited cargo and fewer Customs examinations.

“Do the Right Thing. Do Things Right.” Have been the core values of Penn Emblem Company for 70 years and will continue to be implemented across every process and employee moving forward. Penn Emblem’s Mexico Location has been a part of the C-TPAT program for 10 years and has also successfully completed their 2017 verification.

To learn more about Penn Emblem Company’s partnerships, check out our website here.