Sam and Nancy Varn, owners of Awards 4 U in Tallahassee, Florida.

If you have something to say to Sam Varn, you had better be prepared to have a conversation. Through a combination of his entrepreneurial upbringing, gregarious nature and native Southern hospitality, Varn is the type of talker who rarely has a brief exchange and just as rarely leaves the person on the other side of the conversation wishing it had ended earlier. Sam Varn loves people, and he loves recognizing them.

In fact, when asked what he enjoys most about this industry, Varn has to break up his answer into two points of view: an industry standpoint and a retail standpoint.

“At an industry level, my favorite part is that I can go to any industry show or event, and I know somebody. That’s really valuable to me, because it makes you feel like you have friends around the country. People are approachable and very giving of themselves,” says Varn.

What does Varn love most about this industry from a retail standpoint? Well, that’s a longer story and one that Varn loves to tell. Like most stories, it’s best to begin by describing the setting.

The Not-So-Standard High School Awards Ceremony
Imagine the standard high school awards ceremony. It shouldn’t be hard to do. Chances are that if you are reading this, you have been to a few. High school awards ceremonies are familiar territory. Nonetheless, here are a few visuals to set the atmosphere.

Picture long lunch tables with a continental breakfast variety of goodies to choose from, because this ceremony is usually in the morning. Imagine steaming coffee in Styrofoam cups, donuts with sprinkled frosting, Danishes with white icing and lemon and strawberry filling. Orange coolers dispense watered-down orange juice and lemonade. Paper plates and folded napkins are in abundant supply.

Somewhere near are neat rows of those brown metal fold-up chairs that the high school bought in bulk decades ago. In front of those is some sort of stage, and on that stage is a podium next to a table covered in medallions; some guy in khaki slacks and a polo shirt is arranging them. Teachers, parents and kids are milling all around, snacking and chatting, waiting for the banquet to begin.

It seems like an average high school awards banquet, but it’s not. This sort of get-together is either for star athletes or straight-A students, but there are none here. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be anything special about these kids. They’re just your average high school students.

What are these kids doing here?

Start Your Engines
Varn grew up riding and racing motorcycles with a good friend of his through thick forests and humid air. They would go out to a place called Croom in central Florida, and they weren’t the only ones. Because so many motocross riders were gripping and ripping unchecked throughout Florida’s parks, the state set aside some land where they could ride without causing too many headaches.

One of the reasons for Varn’s success has been his ability to think out of the box, or vase, as the case may be.

Varn grew up in an entrepreneurial household (his stepfather and mother each owned and ran their own businesses). When he saw the concentration of riders miles away from the nearest town, he did what any teenage entrepreneur would do: he put up a parts shop. It was called the Pit Stop, and there riders could buy any parts they required. The state leased Varn much more land than he needed for the shop (at a bargain, price, too; Varn guesses it was around $100 a year), and his friend suggested they use the land to build a track they could race on.

Varn got out his tractor and before long, they had a nice course. In fact, it was so nice that others decided to race on it as well, prompting Varn to build a complete racetrack. His friend designed it, Varn built it, and Croom Motocross was born. The next year, they had a national event. Varn sold it at its peak about a year after that, walking away, as he says, “with a pocket full of cash.”

Varn was going to college for engineering at the time. Promoting motocross races was more fun than college, so he never finished, one of his few regrets.

As a race promoter, Varn needed trophies to award the winners, and he bought his from Charlie Brown of Brown’s Trophies in Tampa. “They called me one day and asked, ‘Do you need any trophies?’ I told them, ‘Nope, I sold my racetrack,’ and they asked, ‘Do you need a job? We need a manager.’”

The thought had not occurred to Varn. “I was 21 and I wasn’t even thinking about finding another job because I had just sold my racetrack. But I went down to Tampa and talked to them,” he remembers.

Varn took the job and worked at Brown’s Trophies for a dozen years, learning every aspect of the business. They treated him very well, but it was a small (though still larger than most awards businesses), family-owned business, and Varn could only climb their ladder to a certain height. But from that height, he could see other places he wanted to climb to. He knew he could run his own shop.

“I visited Tallahassee in December of 1986 to see my brother. Any time I went out of town, I would always go to the local shops, stick my nose in and see what was going on and how they did things. Looking around Tallahassee, I decided this was a market where I could compete,” says Varn.

He went back to Tampa and told his wife, Nancy, that if they started saving money, they could buy a business in Tallahassee in two or three years, 1990 at the latest. They had a plan. However, things didn’t go according to the plan.

“Two months later, in February of 1987, a company which was then named Tallahassee Engraving & Awards came up for sale. I just felt that it was an omen. I inquired and the owner needed to get out for health reasons. I was psyched about getting my own business, and I wanted to get started badly. We came to terms quickly. I closed the deal April 15th of 1987,” Varn remembers.

He went back to Tampa and put in his two weeks notice with Brown’s Trophies. After his boss picked himself up off of the floor (Varn was halfway through his 13th year of managing the store, and the news came as a complete blindside hit to Charlie Brown), he wished Varn well, and sent him on his happy way.

On May 1st, Varn came to Tallahassee and officially took over the reins of his new business.

One of the keys to being successful is to actually look professional and have a welcoming environment for customers.

The Not-So-Standard High School Awards Ceremony
Soon, it’s time for things to get started. Teachers, coaches, parents and students all take their seats. Somewhere off to the side, the guy in the polo shirt watches. The M.C. (a.k.a., the Principal) takes the podium and waits for things to quiet down. He then explains about the ceremony, and how it is different from others.

You see, most high school awards ceremonies award students for traditional achievements: athletic prowess, intellectual acumen, beauty and popularity. Those are fine things to recognize, but there are only so many students who can win those awards. What about the rest of the students? What about the kids who have accomplished goals just as difficult, yet do not fall into a traditional category?

This is their ceremony, their time to be recognized. There are no set categories. There are no pre-set steps of progress to achieve and surpass. Confused? Don’t worry, it will all make sense soon enough.

Growing, Growing, Grown
When Varn took over his business, it had two employees and brought in $100,000 in sales a year. They have grown ever since.

“In two years, we had grown to $500,000 in sales. We continued to grow, and in 1989, we bought out one of our major competitors,” says Varn.

A few years later, in 1992, Awards 4 U built its own building with 4,800 square feet. And, in 1995, they expanded and added another 3,600 square feet.

“Growth continued and in 1997, we bought out another competitor, our biggest competition. At that point, in 1997, we had 40 employees, two million dollars in sales and three locations in the city,” remembers Varn.

It took about a year to consolidate all of the equipment and resources. In that time, Awards 4 U was able to cull its staff down to 30 people and continue to grow. In 2003, the company built its third addition to the building, bringing the total square footage to 15,000.

That same year, Awards 4 U made a concentrated effort to increase their market in the promotional products business. They added another million dollars in sales over the next three years.

“We have been able to continue to grow our sales, and through the course of time, our competitors have come and gone. We still are here, and of course, we still have a couple of small competitors here in town,” says Varn.

Awards4U is very diversified, offering plaques, pins and even promotional products for politics.

Awards Associates Of America
Varn says one of the best things for Awards 4 U happened in 1997, when he joined the Awards Associates of America. It allowed Varn to take advantage of the organization’s buying power; at that time it was 50 other member companies.

“We all get together and approach a vendor, and they offer us a much better deal than an individual store could get, because we buy in bulk. That helped my bottom line considerably, and it also allowed us to continue to grow,” says Varn.

“It also gave us a new network of associates of bigger stores like us. If you look at the demographics of the industry, we are one of the larger companies in the business, and larger companies have different problems than smaller companies. The Awards Associates of America gave us a venue for sharing those common problems and finding common solutions. That has been a real big help to us as a larger company,” says Varn.

The Not-So-Standard High School Awards Ceremony
A teacher takes the podium and begins talking about a student. At the beginning of the year, the teacher was really worried about this student; she was afraid he was going to drop out. He was obviously smart, but for a number of reasons, his grades didn’t reflect that intelligence. At some point, he started working harder and then even harder. This student started the year with failing grades, and now he’s an honor student. The student steps up and the teacher pins a medallion to his chest. Everyone claps.

This time, a coach takes the podium. He wants to talk about one of his players, a guy who never got to start but still showed up and practiced hard every day, every season, all four years. He played unselfish ball, and he helped his teammates. He made others better. The coach pins a medallion around his player’s neck. Everyone claps.

It goes on like this for a while, until all of the medallions have been awarded and people have gotten up from their seats, snacking and chatting some more, students wearing their medallions with pride and the smiles that come from unexpected recognition.

Mothers and fathers talk to teachers and coaches. The guy in the polo shirt still stands off to the side, eating off of a paper plate with a content smile, though there doesn’t seem to be any reason for him to be here. It is clear that he’s not a teacher or a coach, and these are not his children.

Why is this guy here?

Awards For Awards 4 U
Since 1989, Awards 4 U has won the small business award in Tallahassee twice. They have been nominated for ethics in business by the local rotary clubs three times. They have won the state retailer of the year award, and they have won the ARA retailer of the year award. In addition, at this year’s ARA show in Las Vegas, Varn was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“That was a huge honor for me. I was really surprised. I have been an ARA supporter and proponent since I got into the industry. When I bought the business, the first thing I did was join ARA. I joined in May of 1987. That has built a huge networking opportunity for me,” says Varn.

Varn served as chapter director in 1989, and he got on the ARA’s board in 1991 because, in his words, “I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.” He was one of the first few “at large” elected board members (the others were George Waas, Bill Townsend and Leonard Schenkel) in ARA history. That was significant, because prior to that, the executive director appointed board members. At that point, it became a democracy where the membership voted on board members.

“Bill became president in 1993; I was president in 1994, Leonard was president in 1995, and George Waas had passed away in that time frame, or he would have certainly been President of ARA. I like to think that we were part of an important class,” says Varn.

Varn says that it is the people in any business that make it successful. “I may have been smart enough to hire them, but that’s all the credit I can take.”

Business Philosophies
When one business has an unusual amount of growth and success in a market where previous businesses were mediocre in performance, one wonders what their keys to success are. Is it efficiency? Customer service? What is it?

“One of my passions is reading business magazines. I read Inc. Magazine, Fortune, Fortune Small Business, and of course, A&E, Recognition Review and Engravers Journal. Anything industry-related, I get my hands on. But, business in general has always intrigued me,” says Varn.

Varn is a self-professed efficiency nut, and he has converted that madness into several sound business methods that have allowed him to continually grow his business.

“I have always looked at my operation as needing to keep an immediate supply of products close at hand for production people, so they don’t have to walk all over the building to get parts. I try to optimize work stations so that everyone has the tools they need, electricity, air, etc., close at hand. I also keep our computer systems as updated as we can afford, which is always a challenge, to keep the work-order entry system as good as possible,” says Varn.

From the customer service perspective, Varn says he is also an avid reader of case studies of customer service at different businesses.

“One of the things that bugs me personally is the use of the term, ‘No problem.’ If you go to a restaurant and the waitress brings you a glass of water, you say, ‘Thank you,’ and most of the time, she’ll respond, ‘No problem.’ Maybe that’s just irritable to me, but we had younger people here that said that, and it bothered me. So, we put up a sign (the local newspaper actually wrote an article on it) that read, ‘No problem is a problem. If our staff uses the term, no problem when you say, thank you, I’ll pay you $5.”

Varn told everyone about it. “It was almost comical. People would start to say it, and then they would catch themselves. I didn’t penalize anybody, and I would certainly never fire anyone for saying it. But the funny thing is that I have not paid out a nickel to a customer. All you really have to do is make someone aware of what they’re saying, and they can stop.”

Varn has done seminars for years, and while he was preparing to do his first batch of seminars, he went through a single session of public speaker training. The woman who ran the seminar taught everyone to count their, ‘ums, ahs, uhs, you knows, likes,’ and things of that nature to make them aware of what they were saying so that they wouldn’t say it.

“Consequently, we were able to make people aware that they were using the term, ‘No problem,’ when they should have said, ‘You’re welcome,’ or, ‘My pleasure,’ or, ‘Thank you for shopping here.’ All of those are a more appropriate response. So, that’s one of my little pet peeves, and we work on little things like that to improve our service,” says Varn.

He adds, “One of the unique features of our company is what we call our Ready Room. We have a pick-up window in the building where customers can come and pick up their order, so that the sales staff isn’t interrupted. The gentleman who runs the pick-up window has a name badge. His name is Rodney, and he is our director of last impressions. He makes the last impression on that customer. If there is a problem with the order, how he handles it is very important. If everything is good, he is of course thanking them for their business and letting them know we appreciate it.”

Varn says that he and his staff work hard on the customer experience, and included in a good experience is a knowledgeable sales staff and a neat environment that welcomes the customer. Awards 4 U also offers other perks, including customer-appreciation days on Fridays, when cookies are supplied.

“We try to have fun with it. Our people work really hard, and they have been suffering from this economic downturn like everybody else. We have had to reduce benefits and hours, and they are weathering the storm without complaint. They are just doing a great job. Our order level hasn’t dropped off, but our dollar value has, like many other companies,” says Varn. “But, as a business owner, you have to adjust. We have had to reduce manpower, benefits and hours, and be more cautious in spending, making wise decisions on bringing in new products.”

Some Pointers On Pricing
When it comes to pricing, Varn says that Awards 4 U tries to be as competitive as they can. However, “I learned long ago that the most foolish people in this business are the ones who are giving away the things we sell. They may think they are making it up in volume, but they don’t realize that if I sell one plaque for $50, and they sell two of the same plaque for $25 apiece, they’re doing twice the work for the same amount of money.”

He notes that there are some Internet discount houses out there that dropped their prices to ridiculous levels.

“I wonder why they do it. What’s the purpose? They’re undermining an industry, first of all, which is never a good thing. They’re cheapening their own product value, and consequently, my product value, which I don’t appreciate too much. But most importantly, they’re working a whole lot harder for a whole lot less money, and I didn’t think that was the goal of being in business. I always thought the goal was to work smart, make good profits and be able to give to your people. My business exists to benefit the people that are here, not just me. And that is my core philosophy. This company should be here for the benefit of everyone involved, not just the owners. If I take care of everybody else, I’ll get mine. But I’m like every other business owner. I’m the last one paid, and mine is the first salary cut.”

Varn says that it is the people in any business that will make it successful. “I may have been smart enough to hire them, but that’s all the credit I can take. I think that there are an awful lot of good people here, without whom this place would collapse. It’s just that simple.”

The Not-So-Standard High School Awards Ceremony
Eventually, things start to wrap up. The school principal thanks everyone for coming, oh and by the way, thanks to Awards 4 U for supplying the medallions. People begin cleaning up and saying their farewells. One woman is walking through the crowd, and she seems to be looking for someone. This is the type of event where people wear name badges (perhaps made by the same company that engraved the medals? Who knows?), and she is actively reading the badges of the people walking around here. Then, she spots the man in the polo shirt. She reads his name badge. It says Sam Varn. She walks up to him, and without a word, throws her arms around him in a big, squeezing hug.

Now, let’s pause in the story for a moment to discuss hugs. There are hugs, and then there are hugs, and then there are the hugs that mothers give to the people who have helped their children. If you are the type of person who doesn’t like to cry in public, beware of these hugs, for once caught in their embrace, dry eyes are hard to come by. These hugs are more than a friendly embrace, they express love and pride and gratefulness and more.

It was this sort of hug that the mother gave to Sam Varn. She then told him that her hardworking, smart, just plain good kid had never been recognized in all of her scholastic career. If not for Sam, she may never have been.

Sam decided then and there that he would do these medallions forever.

Favorite Experiences
If you will remember, in the introduction to this article, we broached the topic of what Sam Varn has enjoyed most during his awards-industry career. He answered in two parts. One was the people; the other took longer to tell. Well, that was it.

“The thing we do that I think the most of is something we call our School Medallion Program. We started this in 1988, and have done it ever since. We went to the local high schools and said, ‘look, you always recognize the valedictorian. You always recognize the star athletes. What about the other 96 percent? These kids aren’t getting anything. We want to donate 100 medallions a year, and we’ll do two ceremonies, giving away 50 in the fall and 50 in the spring. We want to recognize the kids that are giving everything they’ve got, the D student that comes up to a B or the second-string athlete that plays his heart out but just doesn’t have the God-given talents to be the all-star. Let’s recognize these kids.’”

As a kid, Varn received As, Bs and sometimes Cs on his report cards. He was a second-string athlete. He worked hard, but he was never recognized. That was the inspiration for the School Medallion Program, and the program has caught on. Awards 4 U now services six high schools with its School Medallion Program. It is a free program for the schools. Awards 4 U even prints the letters that go to the parents and makes sure they’re invited.

“That’s the crux of this,” says Varn. “That recognition has to be witnessed. Recognition is a very powerful thing. If you stand somebody up in front of nobody, it’s not the same as standing them up in front of their parents, peers, teachers and coaches, and giving them a pat on the back so everyone can see.”

The students are nominated by the teachers. They send a couple of sentences that Awards 4 U massages into a paragraph. They have a private assembly that has just those kids, their parents, and the teachers and coaches that nominated them. The principal runs the ceremony. The student comes up, the teacher reads their nomination, pins a medallion on them and gives them a certificate.

“The best part of the whole experience is when someone cries. These students get emotional. The teachers get emotional, and of course the parents get emotional. It’s such a hugely positive thing,” says Varn.

This year, Varn received a copy of a letter a parent had sent to a teacher who nominated her daughter. The letter said that her daughter was a senior, and in her entire scholastic career, she had never been recognized for anything, and if not for this award, she never would have.

After running the School Medallion Program and his own business for more than twenty years, Sam Varn is a man who has achieved many of his dreams. Yet, he still dreams.

“One of the things I tell my wife, Nancy, is that one day before I die, I’d like to see the President of the United States of America stand up at his Inauguration and say, ‘I wouldn’t be here today if not for the School Medallion Program,” laughs Varn. He adds, this time in a more serious tone, “We like to think that it can make a difference in their life that someone noticed them and the hard work they’re doing.”

It does make a difference, and just so you know, Sam Varn, we all notice the hard work you’re doing, too.