Hello, my name is ...
I’ve worn a lot of “hats” throughout the decades, which means I own a lot of name badges. Name tags or badges are important, especially for those of us who have trouble with names when seeing someone in a setting that’s not where we would normally see them. I’m simply not good at remembering names and assume that others might not be either. So I wear a name tag in professional environments or when representing an organization where I volunteer.
I queried my Facebook village this week on the topic and all but a handful of the 70+ commenters are name-badge wearers. For some name badges are required by their employers, others wear them by choice.
LaDonna Beaumont quipped, “I love ‘em and leave ‘em. (at home usually).” My solution? I carry my name tags in my car’s console and replace them as soon as I park in the garage at home.
Joe Butler said that if he ran the world everyone would wear name tags all the time. Admitting, like me, that he has a hard time remembering names and faces.
Julianne Holt, a short-timer with retirement looming, offered to sell me her name tag in July since she won’t be needing it any longer.
Press reporter Elli Goldman Hilbert said she loves it when people wear name tags. When I shoot event photos for publication I will often shoot a close-up photo of the subject’s name tag since I know it will be their name, with correct spelling, for the cutline.
My Realtor brother-in-law Rick Scharf had many showings for the just-sold Worley nudist resort and told the owners that it was his company policy that he be fully clothed while on the job so he’d have somewhere to attach his name badge. Quick thinking!
I began pondering the subject of name badges, specifically how many I own, in recent weeks with the retirement of Mindy Hatcher, owner of Awards, Etc. in Post Falls. I believe Mindy made the majority of the dozens of name badges I’ve had since the business opened (as Big John’s Trophies) in 1996. When technology made full-color sublimated badges possible I was first on the bandwagon. They provide the option of reproducing a logo and a name that’s far more readable from a comfortable distance than the engraved name badges.
Mindy first shared the tip with me that you wear your name badge on the right side, so when you shake hands the other person is looking straight at it. Makes sense. Last year when I was replacing my city council name tag I requested that the type size of my name be bumped up larger. Since then I’ve received many thank yous from people noticing that they don’t need to squint or invade personal space to read it.
Now that Mindy has officially sold the business to locals Geneva Dawson and Jack Evans she’ll have even more time to enjoy her grandchildren, travel and engage in the community. Not to worry, Geneva and Jack ... I love to support small business and have no plans to curb my love of name badges any time soon.
Mindy’s retirement open house is from 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce. I plan to wear as many of my collection of name badges as possible.
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Well, March came in like a lamb ... a soggy one at that. I’m not sure what that sneaky snowy lion of winter has planned for the rest of the month. But I’d wager it’s too soon to put the snow shovels away.
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Happy Main Street birthday today to LeeAnn Cheeley, Conrad Nelsen, Sharon Menti, Rhonda Shippey, Ginny Easterly, Alexander Endo, Randy Hurt and Nickolas Aker. Tomorrow Sari Walt, Rebecca Kilmer, Rich Henning, Jessica Coleman and Gail Kinloch take another trip around the sun. On Friday Michael Ward, Chris Guggemos, Sam Williamson, James Steffensen and Jon Newcomb celebrate. On Saturday Natalie Eckstein, Becky Funk, Jim Riley, Amy Tolzmann, Jennifer Harbour, Paula Ryan, Nicole Barnhart, Kelly Lattin, Hallie Gennett, Allison Mehan, Stacy Veach, Carly Hall and Matt Matthews put on their party hats. Billie Dust, Rich Winter and Adam Johnson blow out their candles on Sunday. March 7 my much younger sister Janna Scharf, shares a birthday with Heidi Rogers (60!), Jaime Jaworski, Todd Gilkey, Wayne Larson, James Barfoot and Julie Sandstrom. On Tuesday Cyndie Hammond, Lisa Ferguson, Robert Page, Linda Koehler, Joni Morrow, Chelsea MacEntee, Kylie MacEntee and Veronicka Peacock will celebrate.
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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.