The Washington State Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame awards. It is my favorite set of plaques to make each year. I just shipped them off to the WSCCCA for presentation to this years inductees. They are beautiful plaques, made with a combination of laser cut stainless steel and laser engraved hardwood, but the real reason they are special for me is my own history with the sport of cross country. For 13 years I coached high school cross country. First at Naselle HS and then at Mt. Baker HS. For 13 years I spent the first weekend in November with my athletes at the Washington State XC championships. It was always an amazing weekend of working with my teams, connecting with other coaches from around the state, and of course witnessing the great races.

It was my Mt. Baker girls state championship team in 1999 that inspired me to start this business. I wanted to present them with something special at our awards banquet. I searched and searched and was ultimately disappointed with the run of the mill trophies and plaques that were available. Long story short… I did my research and given my background in graphic design I purchased a top of the line laser engraving and cutting machine and started making custom plaques and trophies.

In 2001 I was honored by the WSCCCA as the Washington State Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year. One of the greatest honors I have ever received. A very proud moment. The WSCCCA presented me with a very nice… but run of the mill… plaque. Really, it was nice… but I immediately knew that I could do better. Just like my state championship teams I wanted future award recipients to walk away from the award ceremony with a trophy or plaque that was every bit worthy of the high honor that it was being presented for. I have had the honor of designing and making these awards ever since.

So… hats off to Patty Ley, Joe Stewart, Bill Kemp, and Ross Thomas. I hope that these plaques are worthy of the great honor.

Members of the Washington State Cross Country Association get a 10% discount on all cross country award orders. In addition to the 10% off their order an additional 10% will be donated to the WSCCCA scholarship fund. It is, in my mind, a great win win proposition. It does not matter if the order is for team or event awards. The discount applies to anything that the WSCCCA member orders.

In the 13 years that I spent as a cross country coach in Washington state (Naselle and Mt. Baker High Schools) I learned to admire the work that the  WSCCCA was continuously doing on behalf of the sport. While the sport of running cross country is as pure a form of competition as there is, the politics of sport do exist and need to be attended to. The WSCCCA continuously watches out for and campaigns for the interest of the coaches and athletes.

While I have since left both the teaching and coaching profession, my admiration for the people who continue to care for the sport that I love has never waned. I started this business because I felt that my cross country athletes deserved better awards and recognition products than what I was able to find at ‘typical’ awards and trophy stores. While the business has grown and I am now filling recognition award orders from all over the world… my roots will always be firmly grounded in the great sport of cross country.

My best wishes to the athletes and coaches as they begin the 2011 cross country season.

Sisu!

Dominic Urbano

At long last the Gold Medal Productions web site is getting an overhaul! The goal is to create a site the does a better job of showcasing the custom awards and trophy focus of the business. Over the years I have refined the laser engraving business to serve clients who are seeking truly customized  product. A leaner site that encourages potential customers to imaging the possibilities that my service might bring and to contact me to discuss how we can take their recognition awards to an entirely different level.  It is actually a bit of a challenge to communicate that message to potential new clients. The award industry is glutted with standardized ‘add recipients name here’ plaques and trophies. Some of which are astronomically priced. I seem to have developed a unique niche’ by creating plaques and trophy awards that are completely customized for each event and keeping the prices at or below what others are charging for standard product.

I never loose site of the fact that an award that I create will eventually be presented to someone who worked hard to earn that recognition. That a plaque will be held high in celebration, take a victory lap with a team, held tight with excited jubilation, and ultimately be displayed with pride for many many years. That is my motivation. That is the focus of my laser engraving business. That is the message that I hope to convey in the new web site.