What gets recognized gets done! This was a sign on the wall of the Recognition Manager at Sears Roebuck in the 1980s. It always impressed me that Sears had a position in the company that had the sole responsibility of using recognition as a tool to improve, motivate and thank employees for what they do. The quote sums up in many ways what we do at RCB and how we focus on our customers. Let me share with you the story of how I got started with RCB back in the 80's. I was working with an emblematic jewelry company selling corporate awards. We sold length of service recognition lapel pins in 10K and 14K gold. We also had a division that specialized in sales awards like plaques and crystal. Out of the blue, the company, a 104 year old well established business, closed its doors and distributed the assets. I went into Christmas with no job prospects and not much under the tree for the kids. On New Year's Eve, at 5 pm, my phone rang. "Hi, I'm Chip with the Robbins Company, and we've noticed how you are always at the top of the Balfour leaderboard, and we'd like to see if you could fly out Tuesday for an interview." At that time, Robbins did not make any sales awards, so all my sales award business needed a manufacturer. RCB was born! My wife and I started the business with customers, but no suppliers. Like many entrepreneurs, we learned from scratch. She learned how to etch crystal, make plaques and produce awards. I went out and made sales, We soon bought an engraving machine and learned the art of etching crystal awards. Over time, we developed as a company and 25 years later I founded the Donor Recognition division to help universities, hospitals and non-profits with their donor walls. This is what I do. Its a passion that gets me up at 5 am and off to the race every day. It’s about people, it’s about relationships. If you do a good job for your customer, they will come back to you. Our business grows because so many of our award programs repeat each year. We are good at what we do. If the customer has an awesome experience with me, they will place another order next year. We recognize the lifetime value of a customer and do everything to make the experience easy, positive and puts them in a good light. When you are ready for a donor wall, reach out to me and we'll help you with the process. curtd@rcbawards.com.