Thank You, UMAPP, for Chuck’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    There are moments in life that will be remembered forever, and this was one of those moments. On April 13, our late founder, Chuck Dahlgren, was honored with UMAPP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

    Chuck was nominated by Hillary Feder of Ask Hillary’s who said in her nomination: “Chuck taught and instilled in his team all that he knew and believed to be true about recognition. Everyone inside the company that I have ever dealt with sings the same song. It is often difficult to get an entire company on the same page, day in and day out, and live a company’s brand. Chuck did that, and this is still evident even after his recent passing.”

    “He led Crystal D, one of our key award suppliers. Chuck was a leader-focused gentleman, guiding those working in the space to understand recognition beyond the award. From program development to what to recognize when selecting an award to how to present, Chuck was more than just selling products. Many companies sell awards. Chuck helped those in the space grow their blog with tools Crystal D provides them to help distributors become recognition experts, a space often overlooked.”

    Continue reading…

    We Remember Our Ultimate Memory Maker

    Chuck Dahlgren, our beloved Founder & CEO, passed away on Monday, October 10, 2022.

    Our hearts are broken.

    Charles Parks Dahlgren (February 22, 1952 – October 10, 2022) passed away at age 70 from complications during heart surgery. He was known as Chuck or Charlie. He was born in Olivia, MN, and grew up in Bird Island, MN. Chuck attended Concordia College and then farmed in Bird Island through 1982. In 1982, he enrolled in college again and obtained a degree in accounting in 1984, after which he became a CPA. He worked as an accountant and then as a Chief of Operations for a construction company before purchasing Ice Nine Glass Design in 1992. Ice Nine Glass Design was renamed to Crystal D, and it is where he made his impact on the world. His biggest accomplishments were found in his relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and employees that he called Memory Makers. Chuck was known for his passion for his work, drive and determination, love of learning, constant personal development, faith in Jesus, and love of family and the lake.

    He is survived by many. Jeanne Dahlgren, his beloved wife; three daughters; and many grandchildren: Audra and Matthew Lehnert, and their children, Nolan, Ryan, Ruby, and Grace; Bridget Dahlgren and her daughter, Madison; Crystal and Garrett Hoelzel, and their children, Olivia, Boaz, Viviana, Simeon, and Malachi. His siblings: Suzi and John Nelson, Rick and Margaret Dahlgren, Patti and Ron Peterson, Nancy Jurgensen, Kathy and Tom Krantz, and Gretchen and Howard Anderson; along with dozens of nieces and nephews.

    A funeral and tribute to Chuck’s life is planned for Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 2pm at Vadnais Heights Commons, 655 County Rd. F E., Vadnais Heights, MN 55127. All are welcome. Condolence gifts can be sent to Vadnais Heights Commons on October 25 between 9am and 11am.

    If you’d like to send condolences to the Crystal D Memory Makers and/or Chuck’s family, please use one of these options:

    Private Voicemail: 651-925-3499
    Private Email: DahlgrenFamily@crystal-d.com
    Flowers & Gifts: 505 Atwater Circle, St. Paul, MN 55103

    50 Out of the Box Ideas for Selling Crystal Prints

    With the continual upgrades to the smartphone, more and more people are embracing photography. 1.2 trillion photos are posted to social platforms each day, creating vast amounts of visual data stored on mobile devices. Compare that to the 80 billion photos taken by traditional cameras almost 20 years ago. Technology has made it easier for people to take photos and print them without sacrificing quality.

    Enter a new product from Crystal D — IllumaPix™ Crystal Prints. It is the perfect solution for creating custom prints for any industry. IllumaPix™ is a popular choice for appreciation gifts, employee recognition, wall art, signage, and more! Continue reading…

    Day to day. Informal. Formal. How do you recognize?

    How Do You Recognize? Three Types of Recognition

    The dictionary defines recognition as “the state of being recognized,” which is not exactly helpful. To really understand recognition is to understand what the purpose is. Employees who feel good about their jobs tend to perform at a higher level.

    Your company can become more successful when you recognize and reward performance that matches your corporate goals. There are three types of recognition that you can use to help your employees reach those goals: day-to-day, informal, and formal. Continue reading…

    Podium

    How to Present Employee Service Awards

    Employee service awards are designed to recognize a deserving employee for years of service and/or dedication to the job. This type of corporate award is common in most businesses and has many benefits. However, business owners and managers hesitate to use employee service awards to their advantage because they don’t know what to say to their deserving employee. In fact, the number one reason why managers don’t recognize their employees is because they don’t know what to say!

    The good news is that it is very easy to figure out what to say to an employee during an awards presentation. Managers and business owners should not let this stop them from presenting employee service awards.

    Bob Nelson is one of the first individuals to research how to present a recognition award. He recommends a few very simple steps outlining what to say in his book, The 1001 Rewards and Recognition Fieldbook. Continue reading…

    Excited Woman

    A Tale of Two Recognition Events

    At Crystal D, we know that there are good recognition events and bad recognition events. We want to rid the world of the bad recognition events, and to help combat those, we’re sharing stories of good and bad recognition events.

    We’ve already given you examples of a few good recognition events, so now we want to show you how two different events had two drastically different reactions from the recipients.

    *Names have been changed to protect the innocent. And the guilty company. Continue reading…

    Ricky Rubio

    Crystal D Stories: Revamping a Community Service Award

    Our sales teams work with a variety of different distributors who have unique customers and unique stories. I sat down with Mike recently, and he told me a story about one distributor who was helping revamp a community service award.

    FLIP SAUNDERS LEGACY AWARD

    Solutions Rep: Mike

    End User: Minnesota Timberwolves

    Objective: Service: creative idea and thoughtful personalization

    Continue reading…

    Costa Rica

    Making a Memorable Award

    I love hearing the stories behind some of our coolest pieces. Our Memory Makers love sharing the Regatta Award with Costa Rica artwork, so I wanted to hear how that piece came to be. And of course, I wanted to share that story with you!

    One of our distributors came to us with this project. He told us the story of Ms. Walker and her technology company, Charter Business.

    Charter Business was on the brink of collapse when she decided to acquire a key vendor. Once the acquisition was final, Ms. Walker decided to set a very aggressive sales goal for her team. In the first 12 months after the acquisition, she wanted $2 million in new sales. Continue reading…