About UsOur vision is to partner with our customers in showcasing their passion for excellence. Its our mission to deliver innovative products and services that help promote performance excellence in music, education, athletics and branding for our customers.Our HistoryOur company was founded by Eris Ritchie back in 1960. He founded Southwest Emblem by channeling his passion and appreciation for music and education to help others showcase their accomplishments with pride. With… Show more About UsOur vision is to partner with our customers in showcasing their passion for excellence. Its our mission to deliver innovative products and services that help promote performance excellence in music, education, athletics and branding for our customers.Our HistoryOur company was founded by Eris Ritchie back in 1960. He founded Southwest Emblem by channeling his passion and appreciation for music and education to help others showcase their accomplishments with pride. With this goal, he launched Southwest Emblem as a family owned business with two key divisions. The largest division specializes in custom patches, lapel pins, medals, and embroidery products. Over the years, Southwest Emblem has become the nation's number one supplier of custom embroidered patches for school, music groups, festivals, and parades. We are also a leading source for custom lapel pins, award medals, emblems, ribbons decals, chenille patches and a variety of other products.Eris' passion expanded beyond just music and truly encompassed all extracurricular activities. Back in 1964, the Southwest Camps division held its first cheer camp. This division provides summer camps for high school, junior high and elementary age cheerleading and dance teams. We host these summer camps across the state of Texas. Our camps are affiliated with our strategic partners and highly-recognized National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and National Dance Alliance (NDA).The company is based in Cisco, Texas, where Eris was a longtime resident. When the company was first started, Eris led operations while also serving as band director for the high school system and later at Cisco Junior College. He continued his career with CJC and filled roles in public relations and advertising until 1977, when he resigned and dedicated all his time and efforts on Southwest Emblem. It is with great pride that Eris passed over the reins to his son, Michael Ritchie, who is now the owner and President of Southwest Emblem. Show less