Stacey Shirar, Owner Awards Unlimited
Awards Unlimited Inc.
April
"Small Business of the Month"
Sponsored by Lafayette Savings Bank
Driving along Union Street, locals often get a chuckle or a motivational nudge, thanks to the message
board at Awards Unlimited Inc. One recent example: “Life is a garden. Dig
it.”
“We have people call and comment. It’s very popular,” owner Stacey
Shirar says of the business’s light-hearted gift to the community. “We
change it two to three times a week in the summer.”
Business Founded
in 1978
Adding a touch of thoughtfulness to daily life is what the company
that specializes in awards and promotional items is all about. This month, the
business at 3031
Union
(www.awardsunlimitedinc.net, 447-9413)
receives the recognition as the Chamber names it the Small Business of the Month
for April. It’s the company’s second time for the award, having first won it
in October 1999.
Launched 30 years ago, Awards Unlimited has been owned since 1996 by
Shirar, who had been an employee there since 1983 and before that worked for a
similar business.
Commemorative
Awards, Treasures
“We commemorate lasting memories and important milestones with
innovative awards and products,” Shirar says. The business also supplies
rubber stamps,
U.S.
flags, name badges, engravings on just about anything, cast plaques for
cemetery stones and other monuments, signs, giftware, clocks and more. “We do
custom work all the time,” Shirar says of special requests she receives for
unique presentations. The business has customers all over the
U.S.
“We provide items that have a higher perceived value, that people will
feel good presenting to someone,” she says. And that’s the joy of the
business for her. “We are creating a treasured memory. Customers are excited
about what they are doing and presenting to someone.”
Awards Unlimited operates from a 5,600-square-foot headquarters. Its first
floor is its retail operation; the second, the production facility.
Accuracy,
Service Appreciated
“The Chamber
made a good selection,” says Melissa Evens, manager of speakers and events at
Purdue’s Krannert School of Management. “Awards Unlimited is great at
customer service. They always make me feel at home when I walk in. And one thing
I really appreciate about them is their accuracy. And their billing is easy.
Their prices are good. They provide quality products and service. And they are
very knowledgeable. They make it easy for me.”
In the community, Awards Unlimited’s involvement includes the Greater
Lafayette Recreation Soccer Association, Lafayette Youth Baseball, Miss Purdue
Pageant, West Side Flag Football and Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair.
Philanthropically, it supports March of Dimes, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Relay for
Life, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and others.
“I enjoy being a sponsor of the Soccer Association,” Shirar says.
“It’s important for kids to be involved. And the Make-a-Wish Foundation is
pretty important.”
Dogs Her Second
Love
When she’s not running her business, Shirar says her hobby is
“thinking about work.”
To get her mind off work, she hangs out with her three dogs—Gizmo, a
Yorkie; and Pomeranians Wiley, who looks like a coyote, and Beckham, named for
the soccer player.
________________________________________________________________________________
Nominate
a Small Business!!
The Small Business of the Month Award is open to Chamber members who own or
co-own a business that has 25 or fewer employees, been in business for a minimum
of three years, and the business or it’s owner has a history of community
involvement. Nominations may be
submitted to the Chamber of Commerce for consideration by the Small Business
Selection Committee. Nomination
forms are available on the Chamber
of Commerce website or call the Chamber,
742-4041
. All
monthly winners will be eligible for the Small Business of the Year Award
presented in January.
The
Small Business of the Month is sponsored by
Lafayette Savings Bank.
