20 Year Business Anniversary

April 28, 2009 8:21 AM

Executive Gift Filter - maybe something Custom Engraved? Our company's 20th anniversary is coming up. Help me find a special gift for the boss.

In August, my company will mark 20 years in business. This is a big deal, but there are no plans for a formal celebration or anything... we're super-busy, and I doubt many people even realize it's coming up.

I want to give the company president something to mark the occasion, but I have zero experience in this area. It should be business-related, not personal. (We chip in and give him dinners, golf trips, theater tickets etc. on Boss' Day and his birthday.)

Maybe a paperweight- brass, crystal, ??? - engraved with our logo and the anniversary dates?

Two hours of Googling left me baffled. There are so many promotional products sites out there- any recommendations?

I found brass paperweights shaped like stars, but those are employee motivation gifts for 'star performers'. Also, there isn't room for a logo and the dates to mark the anniversary.

This was more like it, but still sort of small.

Background- we're a food manufacturer. I thought about giving him something in the shape of one of our products... but he's got a lot of novelty gifts like that. I want something substantial and... classy.

As the company has grown, we've had 3 different logos. It might be too complicated, but a design displaying all 3 would really be special.

Also, one other thing I noticed. A lot of those promotional sites do logo engraving but they require a 12-item minimum order, or whatever.

I'm open to spending up to $200, but I don't need multiple commemorative paperweights!

I'm probably over-stressing, but this is important to me. I've been with the company for 17 years. When they hired me, I was a kid who didn't have the money for next month's rent. I literally had no where else to go.

Our boss has taken this company from a struggling start up to an international success, from 20 employees to 225+. I really want to give him something to recognize that. Any advice / experience / ideas would be greatly appreciated.

PS- the links didn't show up in Preview, so just in case:

http://www.images.asidatabuilder.com/images/prodbigimgs/4410000/4418076.jpg

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/3jsgiftboutique_2049_107806

Thank you!

posted by GuffProof to work & money (14 comments total)

I think a nice desk or wall clock with an engraved face would be a fitting gift to commemorate an anniversary.

It's also useful, whereas too many 'executive' gifts are just wood/felt/brass space takers.
posted by OilPull at 8:34 AM on April 28

FWIW, I find those promotional "tombstones" to be very cheesy. You can find a classic gift at a high end jewelry store and they can engrave it. They probably won't be able to do the logo/s though and that's not necessarily a drawback.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:38 AM on April 28

Gather photos, old advertisements and product copies, memories and quotes from employees and customers and put together a few copies of a professionally bound book using a service like Blurb.com. Some will go to the company archives, some can be placed in lobby spaces, etc. Make the president's copy special by getting all of the current employees to sign it.
posted by carmicha at 8:42 AM on April 28

I agree about the "tombstones". A lot of custom engraving sites have marble items that can be personalized, but they immediately reminded me of a grave stone.

The president had a death in the family not long ago, so I'm staying away from that!
posted by GuffProof at 8:43 AM on April 28

um... product packaging copy
posted by carmicha at 8:44 AM on April 28

Nambe can do the engraving on a single piece. While they do have the small awards items, I have seen the square platter engraved numerous times and it looks very sharp. I have seen wedding invitations as well as engravings with images in them done on that platter. I bet it would hold your three logos nicely. It can be displayed with a simple plate stand. The nice thing with Nambe is that your boss will never have to polish tarnish off of it unlike a silver piece.
posted by onhazier at 8:46 AM on April 28

Carmicha, I LOVE your idea, so very personal... trouble is, the company already beat us to it!

About 3 years ago, we built our fancy new corporate headquarters. The president dug through the archives and compiled a fantastic photo-history of the company and his family's other businesses, and created a "history wall" in the lobby. It's been a big hit.

That's how I know that the anniversary will mean something to him this year, even if he doesn't say anything. He's proud of how far we've come, and maybe just a little sentimental.

I didn't find Nambe in my endless Googling... they have some gorgeous options. Thanks, onhazier!

And thanks everyone so far. PLEASE keep the ideas / advice coming!
posted by GuffProof at 9:02 AM on April 28

Nambe and Tiffany immediately came to mind for me.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:03 AM on April 28

Get the keys to the office gold plated.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:25 AM on April 28

Nothing is better than a nice engraved pen. I'm a fan of caran d'ache.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:58 AM on April 28

Thanks again for the ideas, I like the gold key idea! And I agree, a fancy pen would be classic.

I should have mentioned that I'm not 'married' to the paperweight idea, it was just the only thing that came to mind!
posted by GuffProof at 11:35 AM on April 28

Does the boss like whisky? A bottle of 20-year-old scotch probably won't go amiss...
posted by LN at 11:39 AM on April 28

A custom comic from elsewares.com might do the trick: http://tinyurl.com/customcomic
posted by subpixel at 11:51 AM on April 28

Old style capitalists always had portrays of themselves on the wall. For our 10 year anniversary we got the two founders a custom painting of themselves in that look. It was done from publicity shots and looked very classy.
A bit cheesy, a bit funny, but a great success nevertheless.
posted by mmkhd at 12:43 PM on April 28