The Oscars were Sunday night, and we all recognize that gold statuette as a sign of prestige and achievement in the entertainment industry. In honor of the Oscars, I thought it would be fun to share little-known facts about that famous golden guy and other popular award trophies.

Oscar Statuette. The coveted statue depicts a knight holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film. It’s made of Britannia metal with 24-karat-gold plating, stands 13½ inches tall, and weighs 8½ pounds. That’s heavier than most of my hand weights!


Even though it's one of the most recognizable trophies in the world, you probably didn't know Oscar is holding a sword.

Heisman Memorial Trophy Award. More informally referred to as “the Heisman,” this trophy annually honors an outstanding player in college football. The trophy, made out of cast bronze, is modeled after Ed Smith, a player on the 1934 New York University football team. It stands 13.5 inches tall and can knock out Oscar with its 25 pounds.

 
Where would you display this 25 pound award?

Grammy Awards. The Grammy awards honor excellence in music recording and was celebrated earlier this month, too. The award was originally called the Gramophone Award in honor of Thomas Edison’s invention. The trophy features a gilded gramophone that is gold-plated. Each year, "stunt” trophies are used during the award ceremony so the winners are not revealed prematurely. Winners later receive their engraved trophy.

 
After winning six Grammys, Adele had to lug around 25.5 pounds of gramophones (they weigh 4.25 pounds each)!

Stanley Cup. As a Michigander the Stanley Cup is easily recognizable, especially in the hands of our Detroit Red Wings! This sports trophy has several unique features, like the fact that the names of all the winning players, coaches, management, and staff are engraved on it. There is only one Stanley Cup, and the winning team only gets to host it until a new champion is crowned. The bowl of the cup is made of silver and nickel alloy. It stands 35.25 inches tall and is our heavy weight champ at 34.5 pounds.

These awards immediately came to mind when I thought of famous trophies and symbols of achievement. What about you? What are your favorite famous and recognizable trophies and awards?

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

To quote my co-worker Dean-o, it’s finally Feel Good Friday! As Baudville’s only copywriter, I had my hand in everyone’s cookie jar this week, and now that it’s almost over I have to say, “whew, I’m full!”

Multi-tasking mania aside, it was a great week full of all kinds of inspirations and revelations. Here are my top five:

Carnevale – Midwest Style. Our downtown Grand Rapids transformed into a Fat Tuesday frenzy, complete with street musicians, dancers, and festive fare at 12 different area restaurants. What a joy to see our city explode with celebration. And what dedication – after all, it is February!

Creative Juicing Meetings. During these daily, early-morning meetings with Baudville’s creative group, one of our team members brings an activity that we all participate in. From still life drawing with Mozart, to writing six words stories, to building an iguana out of Legos, each project gets our minds flowing and sets the stage for a hyper-productive day.

{F}Score by Sally Hogshead. If you’re in the business of anything, you need to know how to fascinate your audience. Watch Ms. Hogshead’s captivating TEDX talk (it’s worth every minute), then take the {F}Score Survey to determine your fascination triggers – the unique personality and behavioral traits you have that allow you to influence others (including the people you work with)!

New Product Development. It’s design, development, and wordsmithing time at Baudville, which is like my Birthday, a Key West vacation, and a hot fudge brownie sundae all in one. In other words, I love when we’re in a new product cycle! You’ll have to wait a few months to see what brilliance we’re hatching this round; but if you want to see what came out of the last session, look here.

Robert Rauschenberg’s Synapsis Shuffle at Grand Rapids Art Museum. Presented so far only in New York and Paris, this interactive exhibition is a huge coup for Grand Rapids, Michigan! It opens March 3rd and will be curated by one lucky member of our community. While I won’t be that person, I am beyond excited that our fair city has this incredible opportunity!

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Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer! 

We had a great turnout for our first ever Employee Appreciation Day Pinterest contest. A couple of weeks ago, we announced a Pinterest contest in which you had to create a board and fill it with Baudville employee recognition gifts you would enjoy handing out to your teammates. We were thrilled when we received all of your amazing employee recognition boards!

And the winners are…(drumroll)…

Winner #1: Erica Seaver-Engel
Erica showcased an array of great Baudville products that would be a perfect addition to anyone’s Employee Appreciation Day. Check out the awesome captions she added for each recognition gift. Erica will receive a $150 credit to help further her appreciation endeavors!

Winner #2: Emily Cabrera
Emily pinned some great ideas on how to recognize your employees for Employee Appreciation Day.  We LOVED her picture of how she uses the Baudville Tell us About You Forms. What a great way to make your volunteers feel appreciated! Emily will receive a $75 Baudville credit toward her next Baudville purchase.

They’re not the only ones who posted some pretty cool boards! Check out some of our other entrants’ boards to help inspire a great Employee Appreciation Day.
  

Cindy Anderson

Cara Matthews

Robyn Stojakovich

Donna Deffenbaugh

Cindy Newman

Don’t forget March 2nd is Employee Appreciation Day. What are you going to give your teammates?

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Kendra is the newest Baudvillian. She is currently an advertising intellectual at Grand Valley State University, and is ecstatic about the change of atmosphere as Baudville’s web marketing intern. Watch out because this young professional just touched down at Baudville.

At Baudville, we’re fortunate enough to be hiring right now, which means we have all kinds of new faces walking our hallways. Whenever we have new employees on board, we always take a few minutes at our all-staff meetings to introduce them to everyone. There’s a fair amount of hoopla at these meetings, and I think a lot of our newbies leave them with their hair blown back a little. (I still remember my first one!) But, we only have these meetings periodically, so sometimes new team members can be here for weeks or even a few months before they get that big shebang welcome.

This got me wondering… about our new hires’ impressions of us and also about what we, as a company or as individuals, do to make people feel welcome here on a day-to-day basis. So, I asked them!

Terry told me: “The first time I met everyone here at Baudville, I was astounded with how nice everyone was to me. I have worked at companies previously where you had to ‘prove’ yourself in order to fit in. I am proud to be working at a company that chooses to lead by example.”

Mikki responded with: “When I was asked to join the Baudville team I not only thanked my supervisors for the opportunity; but also thanked myself for pushing towards a brighter future in my career. I have had more than just a welcome; I feel a close family already beginning for me here.”

Andrew gave his two cents: “I walked in and saw a ping pong table. I said to another person, ‘I want to play.’ And now I play just about every day at lunch! It reminded me of a time when I was researching Google’s work environment, and I said to myself, ‘I want to work at a place like Google’ … and now I’m here!”

Here’s what Midori said: “When I came on board with Baudville, they gave me a welcome gift in the Making the Difference theme. It made a difference to me to see employees thanking one another for helping them, or giving a Shout Out for a job well done, and to actually see management foster an environment where positivity is not only nurtured, but shared.”

And, finally, a word from John: “On my first day I was presented with some great Welcome to the Team gifts, which I loved. Come to find out we sell these each and every day. What a great way to welcome someone to your team.”

Well, all right! I’m sure glad to hear that everyone is doing their part. If you want the same enthusiasm from your new hires, simply:

Be helpful and friendly. Sounds obvious; but how easily do we forget, once we’re settled in and comfortable, what it’s like to be the new person? Encourage everyone to greet new people and introduce themselves. Take it another step by asking how it’s going and if they need any help.  

Include and involve. For us, that sometimes means inviting new employees to a game of ping pong; but it could also be to lunch, or to share their ideas in a meeting. Make them feel like they’re a part of your team – and they will be.

Get off on the right foot. Present new employees with a welcome gift filled with handy desk items they can put to use right away. This could be a Theme Gift Set, a Celebration Gift Set, or one of our new-ish Welcome Kits.

Remember, a proper welcome is more than a handshake. Done thoughtfully and with the involvement of everyone in the company, it can positively impact new hires and set the stage for a successful and long-lasting relationship. And that’s what you’re aiming for, right? 

Want to share how you welcome new employees? We'd love to hear about it!

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Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for three years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 18 years. Before becoming a professional writer 11 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer

Today is President’s Day, which means if you’re lucky enough to have the day off work or school, you’re enjoying the day doing whatever you want. Like skiing, shopping, or reading the Baudville blog (everyone's favorite thing to do on a day off!).  Whatever your activity of choice, we hope you’re having fun!

But if you’re like the Baudville crew, you’re hard at work today on your 2012 goals and initiatives. Just because you’re at work doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some fun – or get something free.

Today only, in honor of Presidents’ Day, you can get a free Hello My Name Is Pocket Praise set with any $75 purchase! Use code PREZ2012 for your free gift. Bonus! This popular gift is Made in the USA!

Store these handy Pocket Praise cards in your desk and use them frequently to thank your staff. It's a great addition to your collection of on-the-spot recognition gifts. 

For a little Presidents’ Day fun at work today, put a small piece of candy in a Pocket Praise envelope as a prize to the person who gets the highest score on a US Presidents trivia quiz.

Have a happy Presidents’ Day and enjoy your free gift!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.