Jim Nother has always seen himself as an encourager, dedicated to uplifting friends, family, customers, and employees. As the owner and president of Nothers The Award Store, in London, Ontario, Canada, he’s spent his career doing just that.

In The Business of Encouragement

Jim Nother Embeds the Spirit of Collaboration and Service at Nothers The Award Store.

By: Barbara Platts

(Originally printed in the March/April 2024 issue of Insights.)

Jim Nother has always seen himself as an encourager, dedicated to uplifting friends, family, customers, and employees. As the owner and president of Nothers The Award Store, in London, Ontario, Canada, he’s spent his career doing just that.

Jim Nother, the owner and president of Nothers The Award Store

“I feel blessed to be in a business that encourages people,” he says. “We’re with people at the best times of their lives, when they’re receiving awards. It’s great to watch a person go up on stage or cross the finish line, that 7-year-old who puts on a medal for the first time, and they’re so happy in front of their mom and dad. I just feel blessed that I had a piece in that.”

The theme of encouragement is one he tries to instill in his employees, a staff of 24. He trains them to uphold eight company values: nurture safe results, pursue excellence, build up others, embrace change, live healthy, fail forward, be lean and efficient, and collaborate.

Nother production associate Maria Murtezovski gets these custom UV printed glass awards ready for the base to be added.

“We spend a lot of time on our values in our company,” he says. “We actually train our staff on how to live those values so that every day, when you’re coming to work, you can build up others.”

Half a century making awards

Nothers The Award Store was founded in 1968 by Nother’s father, Jim Nother Sr. One of 16 kids, Jim Sr. was raised by his grandfather, who was an entrepreneur. Jim Sr. emigrated from Ireland to Canada by boat in 1955 and worked at a couple of larger companies. But he started his own business part-time in his basement, making trophies and selling toys. Within a couple of years, he rented a retail space for the business and got into engraving.

Nother the Award Store's team

Nother started working for his dad when he was in high school and has been in the business ever since. In 1987, Jim Sr. decided to get into the automotive industry, so Nother and his brother bought the business from him. Nother was in his late 20s at the time. His brother ultimately pursued a different career, and Nother has remained at the helm.

Jim Sr. is now 88 years old. He still comes into the shop from time to time to visit and see what his son has built it into. In 1987, the business sat on 7,500 square feet. Today, it’s grown to 30,000 square feet and includes a showroom, office space, an operations area, and a warehouse on two acres of land.

Providing solutions

Nothers The Award Store has a diverse product range that includes medallions, crystal awards, acrylic awards, corporate awards, plaques, promotional materials, sports awards, and trophies. They also offer banners, cast nameplates, and custom tactile signage. Their clients are mainly sports associations, scholastic institutions, corporate entities, and not-for-profit organizations.

Nother says school sports programs make up a large part of the business. They work with many institutions, running all aspects of their sports programs. Each school gets an account manager with Nothers The Award Store who manages their needs on an ongoing basis.

Account coordinator Liam Jackson proudly shows off one of Nothers' most popular Cups

“Oftentimes there are changes in the universities, but with us, because we have the knowledge, we’re able to work with that client and share with them what happened the years before,” says Nother.

The idea for getting schools as clients came from watching his four children and 10 grandchildren participate in numerous sports tournaments over the years. Nother would go to cheer them on, and he would see the awards sitting in boxes. He thought those awards should be out for the athletes to see.

“I tried to teach the sports organizations how to give real recognition,” he says. “Show it, put it out front, let the kids see it, and the coaches can go over and talk to them about what they’re going to win.”

He also noticed that when the awards were delivered, they’d show up in boxes with styrofoam popcorn chips. The people who had to pull the awards out and organize them couldn’t help but make a mess. He designed a system where his team would unpack the trophies and deliver them to the client in a more seamless manner. This process led to another idea: designing a spare kit. They would give their clients extra awards, with the plates off, so if one broke or there was an extra player or coach, they could go build their own trophies right on the spot.

“We drive at two things: We want a memorable experience for every athlete, and we want the gift of time for the organizer,” Nother says. “With these processes in place, we quickly became known as solution providers for sports programs and tournaments. Schools wanted to talk to us more about how we could help them.”

Embracing technology

Much has changed in the awards and personalization industry in the last half of a century. Nother says that embracing the changes in technology is one way his business has kept up with the times.

Nother the Award Store Facility

He can hearken back to the days when he was a young boy setting type for an engraving machine on his polygraph. He could produce maybe 10 plates per hour with this system. Today, the same work is being done with a laser, which can make hundreds of plates per hour.

“Technology has stepped up in a big way to the point where we can produce a lot more custom, better-looking awards,” he says. He also thinks the improved quality of sublimation and UV printing has made a huge difference in the industry.

Nother also appreciates how technology now allows him to meet clients virtually rather than having to drive for hours. He can get in more meetings during the day and be home in time for dinner.

Sharing with others

While being in the awards business means seeing people at their best, it can also mean seeing them at lower points. That’s another reason why customer service is so important to Nother.

“When people come into the showroom, sometimes they’re dealing with somebody who’s lost a loved one,” he says. “You really want to be empathetic and understand where they’re coming from, and really get to know what’s happened. It’s not just a commodity sale, it’s a caring and concerned sale because you really want the best for them.”

For those who are new to the awards and personalization business, Nother recommends getting to know leaders in your community and nationally at shows like APA’s International Personalization Expo.

“Get to business meetings with business leaders. I don’t care if it’s in your church, the Chamber of Commerce, your university,” he says. “Get around business leaders and ask lots of questions.”

Most importantly, he says, don’t be afraid to collaborate with others.

“There are so many people that keep their cards close to their chest,” Nother says. “I just find that when you share, people really open up and they see that you have a heart, that you care about people. And they’ll come back and share with you.”

For Nother, encouraging others trumps being competitive in the industry. He says there’s so much work out there in the awards and personalization business that, as far as he’s concerned, no one is ever going to get it all. Even if they did, that’s not a recipe for success in his book.

“What you do for a living, you make a living,” says Nother. “But with what you give, you make a life.”

Barbara Platts is the managing editor of Insights Magazine. She's worked in journalism and marketing for the last 14 years and is excited to be learning all about the awards and personalization industry.