Education and a Lesson in Giving

Giving is more than just taking something (money or product) and donating it to someone in need. It is also about adding to our community and raising our standards. More importantly, it’s about educating ourselves about what is needed in our community. And, while we are receiving this education, we are also providing it to others.

Here at Coller Industries Incorporated, our primary focus is meeting our customers’ needs and providing a better future for our community. As such, we have a constant desire to give back to those in need. And what better way than investing in the education of our children?

The Granite Education Foundation

The Granite Education Foundation

The mission of Granite Education Foundation is to improve educational outcomes by strengthening the Granite School District Community. This is accomplished through the engagement of business and community partners in the support of Granite School District and the academic achievement of all its students.

Who we are. Granite Education Foundation is a coalition of engaged business and community leaders with a passion and understanding of the importance of an education.

What we do. Granite Education Foundation seeks to improve the academic success and well being of each student with a particular emphasis on supporting students at risk of not graduating.

How we do it. In collaboration with Granite School District, concerned individuals, and community partners, Granite Education Foundation provides basic needs, programs and educational enhancement services that have been shown to improve the chances of student academic success and well being.

In 2009, we started giving to The Granite Education Foundation.

We are happy that we have been able to continue in this giving tradition, so last year we donated again. The knowledge that this money goes to help the children in our community is what keeps us giving. It isn’t about the money; it’s about the future of our kids and where they will lead us because they were able to obtain a good education.

We believe in giving toward the education of our children and our future. And because of that, we have enjoyed receiving something back for the past 11 years. Each year, as a thank you for our time and money, Granite Education Foundation has some of their school children write and send a personal thank you. We are always thrilled when our special letter arrives.

This year, the note that came with our Valentine’s card read:

Valentine's Day card from the Granite Education Foundation and a school child

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Granite Education Foundation and students from across the district wanted to express a heart-felt thanks for all you do. Enclosed you will find hand-made Valentine’s Day cards our students created with YOU in mind. Thank you for being a part of our success. We look forward to working more with you.
Yours truly,
The Granite Education Foundation Team

The Valentine’s Day card that came with this letter was handwritten with a simple message of, “Thank you for donating to GEF.” These two letters were included in a gray, felt heart shaped envelope. And we love it!

Gary Coller, President of Coller Industries, said, “We donate because it’s the right thing to do. We do it for the children in our neighborhood.”

While it is the right thing to do, we see the benefits it has on our community.

The monetary donation goes toward a scholarship fund for students in the Granite School District. And, with more than 50% of Granite School District’s 67,000 students living at or below the poverty line, we need to be doing what we can to support our community.

This donation also goes toward coats, gloves and shoes for these school kids. Backpacks are also filled with school supplies at the beginning of the school year and given to the kids who need them the most. We are proud to help support these efforts of giving.

And, we want to say thank you to the GEF for all of the outstanding work they do for our education system here in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our children benefit every day from their kindness and dedication toward learning.

World Scout Jamboree & Name Tags

What does a scout jamboree have to do with name tags? Well…

Glen Jean, West Virginia – The story starts in London, 1920. The first World Scout Jamboree was held from 30 July 1920 to 8 August 1920 and was hosted by the United Kingdom at Kensington Olympia in London. Since then, the jamboree has been held in various places around the world. But, the last time it was in the US was in 1967. This year, that all changed!

Albin Dearing, BSA Contingent Troop 315 Assistant Scoutmaster, explains, “The first World Scout Jamboree was organized by the Boy Scouts Association in London. With exceptions of the war years, it has been held every four years in different parts of the world. The 2019 World Jamboree will be held at the Bechtel Summit Reserve in West Virginia. Over 45,000 scouts representing 152 countries will be attending.”

donation from coller industries incorporated

“Troop USA 315 is a temporary troop of 36 scouts and four adult leaders put together for the purpose of attending the 2019 World Scout Jamboree hosted this year in West Virginia,” said Dearing. “The donation towards our name tags will allow the scouts to learn each other’s names faster as they make new friends and relationships.”

What is a World Scout Jamboree?

The World Scout Jamboree is above all an educational event that brings together the world’s young people to promote peace and mutual understanding and to develop leadership and life skills.

The 24th World Scout Jamboree will feature the hallmarks of past world jamboree programs, such as the Global Development Village, special sustainability initiatives, and the socialization elements that allow participants to make lifelong friends from around the world.

From astronauts to a local scouts, everyone is having fun with scouting activities. Even name tags get a place in this year’s scout jamboree!

Dearing said, “Our troop will be part of the USA Contingent going to the 2019 World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia in July. 36 scouts and four adult leaders will be part of our Troop USA 315. Since scouts from multiple local units will be coming together for this adventure, we decided the other day to get the boys name badges.”

Plastic Name Tags (UV Color Logo)

Full-color logos are genius when it comes to the professionalism of your business name tags. And, with UV colors, bright gradients and images show up vividly for everyone to see. All text is engraved into the two-color plastic material. Choose from a large selection of sizes and other custom options to make the best out of your branding.

uv printed logo on a plastic name tag for the world scout jamboree

Dearing is proud to be a part of the scouting tradition. “We are Boy Scout Troop USA 315 from the Great Trail Council in Ohio,” he said. “The three primary aims of scouting for today’s youth are growth in moral strength and character, participating citizenship and development of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.”

Celebrating Christmas, Name Tag Style

From name tags to custom ribbons, all we want is to celebrate Christmas in style!

While it’s all about personal identification 364 days of every year, for one fleeting day it’s about socializing and stuffing ourselves full of delicious food. And, this Christmas is no exception!

Customer Service employees celebrating at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas party

Marketing Department employees celebrating at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas party

Production and Shipping employees celebrating at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas party

Here at Coller Industries, we pride ourselves on our high-quality workmanship, our culture of quality and our perfect name tags and ribbons. And, while we like to boast about our less than 0.05% error rate, we also want to boast about our nearly perfect employees.

Ramona, the Marketing and Web Services Manager, said, “It’s amazing just how much everything works together. We have such a culture of quality in this company. And, it is so impressive that we are less than a half percent in our error rate.”

All in all, Coller Industries strives in every way possible to get each order not only out the door quickly and efficiently, but correctly! And our low error rate proves this, not only to us but to our current and potential customers.

Aimee, the Senior Account Manager, said, “It has been a fun and exciting year getting to know our many customers and I would like to thank all of the employees, everyone from every department for their assistance and support in ensuring the satisfaction of all of our customers.”

Having a low error rate increases sales and increased sales translate into happy customers. And with happy customers, Coller Industries remains in business to continue to serve everyone and their personal identification needs!

And, part of this happiness needs to extend to our family here at Coller Industries.

Hannah, the Customer Service Manager, said it best, “What makes Coller Industries stand out, is that it feels more like family than work. We all support each other and care about each other, and I think that is such a big contribution to how well we do as a company. Obviously work is work, but it is so much easier to do when everyone you work with is a friend, and everyone cares about each other. I think that is part of what keeps us so motivated to do well.”

Celebrating at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas party

Celebrating at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas party

Our annual tradition of the Christmas party includes a giant luncheon hosted and catered at a local hotel. This year’s meal included prime rib, chicken, salmon, asparagus and other sides for a feast fit for a king. There were also delicious appetizers of crackers and spinach dip with prosciutto wrapped asparagus.

Vance, the Design Manager, said, “I enjoyed the appetizers, I was nearly full by the time the main meal was starting. And I liked that this year’s party was smaller, with only the one guest it made the party feel more about our accomplishments as a group than a meal with families.”

Playing games at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas partyWe also played games and gave out prizes for raffles. From a holiday word scramble to trying to remember who had played the jolly man in red, the games were a blast and the presents even better.

And, every year each employee receives a personalized gift from Coller Industries. This year was a water bottle decorated with the CI logo which was full of candy. We also got a custom embroidered jacket with the CI logo.

Employee Awards at the Coller Industries Incorporated Christmas partyThis year we also had a special treat and recognized the hard work of several employees. From perfect attendance to most efficient, each of these employees received one of our new custom plaques engraved with their specific talent and name.

Here are more thoughts from several employees about our fabulous annual Christmas party:

Crystal (Shipping Clerk) “Everything about the party this year was just so amazing and fun. I wouldn’t have changed anything. And, I really like how plaques were given out for employee appreciation.”

Mathew (Web Design / Development) “The people and environment are the best part about the annual party. It is a nice casual setting where we can enjoy one another’s company and socialize.”

Leslie (Shipping Clerk) “My favorite thing about the Christmas party was getting together with all of the employees and just having fun.”

Charles (Sample Requests) “I always enjoy the company of my coworkers as we are also friends. And it isn’t very often that we get to chat and hang out throughout a workday.”

We just want to say thank you to everyone who works for Coller Industries. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for our wonderful employees. And, to all of our customers, have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Education Continues To Celebrate Excellence

Due to Coller Industries Incorporated’s continual support and donations, we were able to be a part of the “Excel Evening of Honors” on April 13th. Granite Education Foundation presents awards each year to exceptional teachers and administrators working in their district.

It all starts with the smallest of donations: TIME.

Since Granite Education Foundation’s inception in 1988, educator recognition and support has been a key priority. The Excel Awards are a prestigious honor given to the top 10 educators of Granite School District and has been sponsored by Granite Education Foundation since the beginning. Students, administrators, parents and colleagues nominate educators that exemplify the values of Granite School District.

coller industries enjoys giving back to our community through donations to granite education foundation

“Watching the videos of each teacher and their stories and how they make a difference in the kid’s lives was the best part of the evening,” Hannah, Customer Service Manager and Coller Industries Incorporated, said.

Being a professional educator isn’t an easy job. Sometimes it can even be a thankless job. But, thanks to these amazing teachers and administrators, public education continues to excel.

Each year, GEF supporters gather to recognize outstanding teachers, administrators and community members whose personal commitment and contribution impacts 68,000 students in the Granite School District. The Excel Award is bestowed upon nine teachers and one administrator that have been nominated by school administrators, colleagues or students.

Here are the 2018 Excel Award winners.
Congratulations to these incredible educators!

the 2018 granite education foundation excel award winners(Top to bottom; left to right.)

Leah Tarrant – Taylorsville High School
Lori Lindford – Bennion Elementary
Jill Thackeray – Skyline High School
Jodi Larson – Upland Terrace School
Stephanie Varoz – Crestview Elementary
Amy Winder – Elk Run Elementary
Katie Pearce – Rolling Meadows Elementary
Brandon Kerby – Cyprus High School
Janice Wayman – Hartvigsen School
Archer Birrell – Hillside Elementary

These individuals are then put through a rigorous review and observation process by experienced education specialists who ultimately identify 10 teachers and administrators from all over the district. In mid April, up to 300 individuals from Granite School District, supporting businesses, community members, and local leaders gather to recognize and honor these 10 winners in the Night of Honors a dinner and award ceremony.

As Coller Industries makes generous donations each year to the foundation, we were able to attend this gala not only as distinguished guests but also as an award presenter. After explaining Coller Industries to the attendees, Hannah proudly presented Archer Birrell, a 3rd-grade teacher at Hillside Elementary, with his Excel Award.

While our role is small in comparison to each of these educators, we are beyond happy that we get to take part in this fantastic award opportunity. In a nutshell, “We donate money for clothes and shoes for the kids in the Granite School District. Then we get to honor these great teachers for their excellent work by presenting the award on behalf of Coller Industries and the Granite Education Foundation,” Hannah said.

customer donations coller industries and granite education foundation excel awards galaThe Granite Education Foundation Excel Award

Each Excel Award recipient received a sculpture, designed by local Utah sculptor Matt Glenn. This sculpture comes in two parts. The bottom portion has the four Granite Education Foundation hand icons from their logo. Each hand symbolized educate, give, volunteer and advocate. The top portion is a student’s hand reaching for a teacher’s hand. This piece is also reversible so that the teacher’s hand is extending up toward the student’s hand.

“Educational awards, such as the GEF Excel Award, are awesome because children are the future,” Hannah said. “Teachers are important and deserve this recognition for what they do for our children.”

And, we agree. These teachers are very deserving of this prestigious award. We want to thank these teachers and all the others who work endlessly for the welfare of our kids. You all make a huge difference!