Most likely you’ve seen an award made of crystal in someone’s office or have received one yourself. These striking awards and gifts usually represent a specific achievement or goal that has been successfully reached. Crystal awards and crystal paperweights are able to be laser engraved so you can include a logo, picture or specific message.

Crystal awards can be utilized for a variety of business purposes. Crystal trophies and awards are the perfect way to acknowledge a major achievement, and everyone likes to be recognized for their hard work or for accomplishing something important. For example, if you have an employee who has reached a sales goal, then your award message can reflect their accomplishment, with their name and date. It’s always nice to include a personalized message that is specific to the event or accomplishment. You can present these awards on a monthly or yearly basis and offer larger award for larger achievements.

Crystal awards also make very nice corporate gifts for both employees and clients. You can gift crystal paperweights or other small crystal items that can be displayed on their desks. You can even have an employee appreciation week and give all of your employees a crystal award or gift to show them how much you value their contributions to your company. Because there are so many kinds of crystal awards you’ll be sure to find one that’s perfect for you.

Not only are crystal awards and items perfect for employees, but also for clients. These items are a great way to thank your clients for their business. And a crystal award is a gift that lasts. Flowers and fruit baskets can be beautiful, but flowers die and once the fruit is eaten there’s nothing left to remind your client how much you value their business. With a crystal gift you client will always have a reminder of how much you appreciate them.

Crystal gifts can also be given for personal reasons. For example, you can give your father a personal award that declares him the “World’s Best Dad.” You could also purchase a crystal item for your spouse to tell them how much you love and appreciate them. These items also make lovely mother’s day gifts, especially when engraved with a loving quote or poem.

Whether you’re celebrating a holiday, a birthday, anniversary, or a special accomplishment, gifts made from crystal are perfect for all situations. Crystal awards and gifts are not only meant to be utilized in the corporate world, but among family and friends as well. These gifts are perfect for both genders and for all ages.

If you’re constantly wondering what kind of gift to give or have been thinking about recognizing someone’s accomplishment then a crystal item is the perfect solution. Crystal items are unique and can be personalized to make them even more special to the recipient.

Visit Crown Awards for the very best Corporate Awards and Crystal Awards

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby won the Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player tonight, capping a sophomore season in which he became the youngest scoring champion in major pro sports history and sparked one of the NHL’s most dramatic team turnarounds.

Crosby, who earlier this month was named the youngest team captain in League history, received 91 of 143 first-place votes for 1,225 points in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, who tallied 25 first-place votes and 801 points, was runner-up.

At 19 years, 10 months, Crosby is the second-youngest Hart Trophy winner in the history of the award, which was introduced in 1924. Wayne Gretzky was 19 years, 5 months old in 1979-80 when he captured the first of eight consecutive Hart Trophies with the Edmonton Oilers.

Crosby finished the regular season with 36 goals and 84 assists for 120 points, winning the Art Ross Trophy as League scoring champion. He took the permanent scoring lead with a career-high six-point night against Philadelphia Dec. 13 and never went more than three consecutive games without a point afterward. The Penguins were 41-10-9 in games when Crosby recorded a point, 6-13-0 when he did not and 0-1-2 when he was out of the lineup.

The Penguins finished the season with a 47-24-11 record for 105 points, qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2001 and recording a 47-point improvement over 2005-06. Only three clubs in NHL history have posted a bigger gain, most recently the Winnipeg Jets’ 48-point surge from 1980-81 to 1981-82.

Other honorees included Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. Malkin launched his NHL career in memorable fashion, becoming the first player in 89 years to score goals in each of his first six NHL games. Before Malkin, only three players in NHL history had scored at least one goal in each of their first six (or more) games and all did so in 1917-18, the League’s inaugural season. The 20-year-old went on to lead all rookies in goals (33), power-play goals (16), assists (52) and points (85).

Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings joined an elite group by capturing the Norris Trophy as the League’s outstanding defenseman for the fifth time. Lidstrom becomes the fourth defenseman in League history with as many as five Norris Trophy wins, joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven) and Ray Bourque (five). Lidstrom, who earned his fifth Norris in the past six seasons, tied for the League lead among defensemen in plus-minus with a +40 rating, ranked third among all players in ice time per game (27:29) and was fifth among defensemen in scoring with 62 points (13 goals, 49 assists).

Lidstrom’s teammate, Pavel Datsyuk, won his second consecutive Lady Byng Trophy for combining sportsmanship with a high standard of play. Datsyuk led the Red Wings in scoring for the second consecutive season, matching a career high with 87 points (27 goals, 60 assists). His plus-36 rating ranked second on the club and seventh in the League overall.

Another repeat winner was Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour, who won the Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s outstanding defensive forward. Brind’Amour ranked second among all NHL centers with a 59.2% face-off winning percentage and ranked third among League forwards in average ice time per game (23:19).

The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur claimed the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender for the third time in the past four seasons following a record-breaking campaign. Brodeur won an unprecedented 48 games, surpassing Bernie Parent’s mark of 47 in 1973-74, led the NHL in shutouts (12), ranked third in goals-against average (2.18) and third in save percentage (.922).

Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks won his first Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach, edging last year’s winner, Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, by eight points (134-126). In his first year behind the Vancouver bench, Vigneault guided the Canucks to a franchise record-breaking season. They improved their wins record to 49 from a previous high of 46 and recorded the highest points total in club history with 105.

Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu accepted the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions to his community. Koivu’s exemplary support of cancer treatment and research — and, more particularly, his personal demonstration of courage as a cancer survivor — is a source of inspiration and pride to his teammates as well as the many thousands of patients and their families who benefit from his generosity.

Boston Bruins center Phil Kessel received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Diagnosed with testicular cancer in early December, the 19-year-od Kessel played a Dec. 9 game against New Jersey, knowing he would be admitted to the hospital for surgery on Dec. 12. He missed only 12 games before returning to Boston’s lineup.

Four players who received the NHL’s statistic-based trophies June 2 in Ottawa also were acknowledged at the NHL Awards Show this evening: Crosby (Art Ross Trophy), Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier (Maurice Richard Trophy as goal-scoring leader) and the Minnesota Wild’s Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez (William Jennings Trophy as goaltenders on the club allowing the fewest goals).

The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder Trophies. The PHWA also voted on the Masterton Trophy. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters’ Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award, and a special panel of representatives from the PHWA and NHLBA chose the King Clancy winner. Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season.

Balloting results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, with the exception of the Masterton and King Clancy trophies. The results for these awards were tabulated by the PHWA and the National Hockey League, respectively.

Orginally Written by http://penguins.nhl.com

LOS ANGELES — The backstage trophy table was the place to be for serious celebrity watching at Sunday’s 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards - never mind that it was in the basement of a parking garage.
At one point Conan O’Brien was chatting on his cellphone as Amy Poehler and her husband, Will Arnett, walked by on their way to the elevator that would take them to the press tent. Kiefer Sutherland strolled by the trophy table just ahead of Tom Selleck. Christian Slater paused to wave to a group of firefighters working the awards show.
Also walking by the table that contained some five dozen Emmy statuettes was Lily Tomlin, who joked, “I like these three.”
Emmy winner Jeremy Piven, best supporting actor in a comedy series, surveyed the table and joked, “It looks like Hanukkah!”
The Emmy each winner carries off stage is just a prop. Winners give it back and head to the table in the parking garage adjacent to the Nokia Theatre to collect the real one.
As winners were collecting their Emmys, eight limo drivers were seated nearby, embroiled in an intense poker game. The drivers were paying the celebrities absolutely no heed.

Originated from The Canadian Press

BragThis.com, the social network for sharing bragging rights, announced release of a social awards and trophies feature in its latest set of upgrades. The awards and trophies system adds further pats on the back to BragThis.com users. BragThis.com webmasters can award users for accomplishing specific goals or giving notice to bragging rights of special merit.

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 16, 2008 — BragThis.com, the social network for sharing bragging rights, announced release of a social awards and trophies feature in its latest set of upgrades. The awards and trophies system adds further pats on the back to BragThis.com users. BragThis.com webmasters can award users for accomplishing specific goals or giving notice to bragging rights of special merit.

With the launch of the awards system, BragThis.com gave out 3 initial awards. 1st to Boast 50 Stars was awarded to the user that first totaled 50 stars or points for posting their bragging rights. The Master Builder award was given to a user for automobile ingenuity. Finally, the He’s on Fire award was given to a talented billiard player who posted a video of a trick shot. Awards add to the total point score of a user and can be posted to their favorite social network such as MySpace.com or Facebook.com.

BragThis.com launched in mid June and is off to a promising start. Executive Manager Michael Evan Reiss states that “the statistics are very positive from the users we have had during this beta period.” BragThis.com boasts an average of 6.41 pages/visit which according to Google is 210% of the average for smaller sized social networks*. Also, 8.5% of BragThis.com’s visitors viewed 20 or more pages*.

Mr. Reiss believes the site is poised for significant growth in the social network market share, but not until several additional key features are installed and tested. These new enhancements will be heavily responsible for driving first time visitor traffic and expanding the existing revenue streams already in place.

About BragThis.com
Created by entrepreneur and technology enthusiast Michael Evan Reiss, BragThis.com is the latest venture of Advertology, LLC. BragThis.com is a social boasting website that explores the activities of its users in an entertaining and humorous fashion. BragThis.com is currently released as a Beta; several new features and greater levels of interactivity are scheduled to be released at later dates.

Originated by Google Analytics

Date: 16 September 2008

THE annual awards ceremony for Newhaven in Bloom was held at Paradise Park on Sunday.
South and South East in Bloom judge Geoff Hyde travelled from Richmond to present the regional awards that Newhaven won in the South and South East in Bloom Competition 2008.

The mayor, Cllr Graham Amy, presented the Newhaven in Bloom trophies anADVERTISEMENTd certificates while Newhaven Chamber of Commerce president Jon Whitehead presented its inaugural trophy – Business in Bloom.

En route to Paradise Park Mr Hyde stopped off at The Ark pub in West Quay to present the Britain in Bloom Merit Certificate to bar manager Candice Preece on behalf of the Friends of West Quay.

Trophy winners were Michael Hunter from Hill Top Way and Essex Mews who shared best front garden; Jackie Clements from Meeching Road who won best back garden; Dee Baker, of Court Farm Road for best pot; The Harbourside and The Prince of Wales shared the title of best pub garden.

The Harbourside also won the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce Business in Bloom Award while most theatrical garden went to Jo Smith, of Fullwood Avenue.

Special awards were also given to Neills Close and Jubilee Homes, Denton Island Nursery Sensory Garden and Bridge Street restaurant’s vegetable garden.

Lifeboat crew member Chris Bird was thanked for the part he played in transforming the Harbourside garden.

Originally written by the Sussex Express Series

Trophy News From Venice, Italy

A year late, but Brad Pitt finally received the best actor award he won from the Venice Film Festival in 2007 for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

Now back as star of the Coen brothers’ “Burn After Reading,” which opened the festival, Brad Pitt was handed the prize at last.

“I guess you forgot something here years ago,” said the mistress of ceremonies, handing him the gold cup trophy.

“You can run but you can’t hide,” Pitt said accepting it. “It was an honor to receive this last year and it’s an honor to receive it this year. Thank you very much.”

It’s common for stars not to be present to accept the Venice Film Festival awards. The trophies are bestowed on the fest’s final night at which point most celebs have gone home. Sometimes winners turn around and hurry back to reap the trophy, but often they can’t. That’s what happened to Ben Affleck. Two years ago he found out that he won best actor for “Hollywoodland” soon after he landed in Los Angeles after returning from Venice. Affleck scrambled to try to arrange flights to get back before the fest officially closed, but without success.

It’s strange, however, that the Venice Film Festival didn’t ship the trophy to Pitt after he won. That’s how Affleck eventually caught up with his golden cup.

Pitt did not end up reaping an Oscar nomination for “Jesse James,” but that’s not unusual. Over the last 20 years, only two stars who won best actor at the Venice Film Festival were nommed by the academy: David Strathairn (“Good Night, and Good Luck”) and Javier Bardem (“Before Night Falls”). Neither won the trophy.

Originally Written by the Los Angeles Times Staff

Trophy News From West Virgina

Four wildlife management areas and one state forest have been set aside as trophy areas for deer. Will they produce the desired results?

Over the past decade, bowhunters here in the Mountain State who concentrate their efforts on trophy bucks have focused on the four southern counties of Boone, Mingo, McDowell and Wyoming. After all, these four counties have been closed to gun hunting for a number of years now. And numerous trophy bucks have come from this area over the past 20 seasons.

In addition, there have been a respectable number of wallhangers that have been taken from many of the other surrounding counties that border these four areas. Simply put, this region of the Mountain State is pretty tough to beat if you are an avid bowhunter of trophy bucks.

If you are a trophy gun hunter, chances are you’ll head for one of the more remote areas in the state, such as places in Randolph, Webster or Pendleton counties. You might even head south to one of those counties in the southern coalfields region where gun hunting of trophy bucks is permitted.

Originally Written by Game & Fish Magazine Staff

Trophy News from ESPN

Kobe Bryant recently said he would rather win an Olympic gold medal than the NBA championship. Was he merely saying what was politically correct before the Olympics? Did he say it only because it sounds better than “I would rather win an Olympic gold medal than lose the NBA championship”? Or does an Olympic gold medal really mean more to him than a professional championship?

Only Kobe knows for sure but what about you? What sporting trophy means the most to you? Of all the things you could win in sports, which would you choose? A Super Bowl ring? The Masters green jacket? The Heisman Trophy? The Cy Young Award? A World Series? A Final Four? There are dozens upon dozens of championships and awards to win, but which would you most want to claim?

Here are a few quick caveats on my rankings:

The form of the award matters. Trophies top plaques, and the bigger the better. After all, you want the damn thing to look impressive in your trophy case.

Names count, too. Awards named in honor of a person (such as the Cy Young) just resonate more than those that, while prestigious, are named something boring and generic like the “MVP award.”

Durability counts. Generally, the longer the award has been around, the more it means.

Originally Written by Jim Caple for ESPN