Awards & Recognition
Last Updated: June 2026
Premium Custom Awards for Businesses, Schools, Sports Teams & Organizations
Recognizing achievement is about more than presenting a trophy or plaque—it's about honoring dedication, celebrating success, and creating memories that last a lifetime.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we specialize in professionally engraved awards that recognize excellence in every setting. Whether you're celebrating an employee's years of service, honoring a championship team, recognizing an outstanding volunteer, or presenting a retirement award, we create custom awards that recipients will proudly display for years to come.
Our collection includes elegant crystal awards, timeless glass awards, modern acrylic awards, classic award plaques, and personalized recognition gifts for businesses, schools, churches, sports organizations, and community groups. Every award is precision engraved using professional laser engraving equipment to ensure exceptional quality and a permanent finish.
Whether you need a single presentation piece or hundreds of awards for a corporate recognition program, we're committed to helping you celebrate achievement with craftsmanship you can trust.
📚 In This Guide
✔ Teacher & Volunteer Recognition
Why Recognition Matters
Recognizing achievement is one of the most meaningful ways to show appreciation. Whether you're celebrating years of service, honoring an outstanding employee, recognizing a championship team, or thanking a dedicated volunteer, a personalized award transforms an accomplishment into a lasting memory.
Unlike certificates or temporary gifts, professionally engraved awards become permanent reminders of success. Long after the ceremony is over, recipients proudly display their awards in their office, home, classroom, or trophy case as a reminder of what they achieved.
For businesses, employee recognition programs have been shown to strengthen workplace culture, improve morale, and encourage continued excellence. Taking the time to recognize dedication, innovation, leadership, and teamwork demonstrates that employees are valued and appreciated.
Schools, athletic organizations, churches, and community groups also benefit from recognizing achievement. Awards motivate students, inspire athletes, celebrate volunteers, and acknowledge the people who dedicate their time and talents to helping others.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we believe every accomplishment deserves to be celebrated with an award that reflects its importance. That's why every crystal award, glass award, acrylic award, plaque, and trophy we engrave receives the same attention to detail, professional craftsmanship, and precision engraving.
A thoughtfully selected award doesn't simply recognize success—it inspires future success.
Choosing the Right Award
Choosing the perfect award starts with understanding the occasion and the message you want your recognition to convey. Whether you're honoring a top-performing employee, celebrating a championship season, recognizing years of dedicated service, or thanking a valued volunteer, the right award adds meaning to the moment.
Different award materials create different impressions. Crystal awards are often chosen for executive recognition and prestigious corporate events because of their elegance and brilliance. Glass awards offer a timeless appearance that complements almost any recognition program, while acrylic awards provide a modern, professional look at an affordable price for larger presentations.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we offer a wide selection of crystal awards, glass awards, acrylic awards, plaques, and trophies to fit every budget and occasion. Every award is professionally laser engraved to create a crisp, permanent finish that won't fade or wear away over time.
Below is a quick guide to help you choose the award that's right for your presentation.
Crystal Awards
Elegant, sophisticated, and highly prestigious. Perfect for executive recognition, leadership awards, retirement gifts, and top sales performers.
Glass Awards
Classic and versatile. An excellent choice for employee appreciation, academic achievements, customer recognition, and corporate presentations.
Acrylic Awards
Modern, lightweight, and budget-friendly. Ideal for schools, sports organizations, employee programs, and large award ceremonies.
Award Plaques
Traditional recognition that never goes out of style. Perfect for years of service, memorials, coach recognition, volunteer appreciation, and achievement awards.
Whether you're ordering one award or coordinating a large recognition event, we'll help you select a product that reflects the importance of the achievement and leaves a lasting impression.
Crystal Awards
Crystal awards represent the highest level of recognition and are often chosen for life's most significant achievements. Their brilliant clarity, precision-cut edges, and elegant appearance create a lasting impression that reflects the importance of the accomplishment being celebrated.
Whether you're honoring an executive, recognizing years of dedicated service, celebrating outstanding sales performance, or presenting a prestigious leadership award, crystal awards deliver a timeless look that recipients are proud to display.
Our professionally engraved crystal awards are designed to capture light beautifully, enhancing the engraved personalization and creating a sophisticated presentation. Every award is laser engraved with exceptional precision, producing crisp, permanent markings that will never peel, fade, or wear away.
Crystal awards are ideal for:
✔ Executive Recognition
✔ Leadership Awards
✔ Employee of the Year
✔ Sales Achievement Awards
✔ Retirement Recognition
✔ Years of Service Awards
✔ Corporate Milestone Awards
✔ Customer Appreciation
Whether you're recognizing one exceptional individual or presenting awards at a large corporate event, crystal awards offer a premium presentation that reflects excellence and appreciation.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we offer a wide selection of beautifully crafted crystal awards in multiple shapes and sizes. Each piece is professionally engraved to create a personalized award worthy of life's greatest accomplishments.
🏆 Ready to Honor Excellence?
Browse our collection of professionally engraved crystal awards and create a personalized recognition gift that will be treasured for years.
Glass Awards
Glass awards offer a timeless combination of elegance, versatility, and value, making them one of the most popular choices for employee recognition, corporate achievements, educational honors, and community awards. Their clean lines, brilliant clarity, and precision engraving create a professional presentation suitable for almost any recognition program.
Unlike traditional trophies, engraved glass awards provide a modern appearance that complements today's offices, boardrooms, schools, and organizations. Whether displayed on a desk, bookshelf, or trophy case, a personalized glass award serves as a lasting reminder of dedication, hard work, and success.
Professionally laser engraved glass produces crisp, permanent markings that highlight names, company logos, dates, and personalized messages with exceptional detail. The result is an award that looks just as impressive years from now as it did on presentation day.
Glass awards are an excellent choice for:
✔ Employee Recognition
✔ Customer Appreciation
✔ Teacher Recognition
✔ Volunteer Awards
✔ Academic Achievement
✔ Sales Performance
✔ Community Leadership
✔ Special Recognition Events
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we offer a wide variety of jade glass, clear glass, beveled glass, and contemporary glass award designs in multiple shapes and sizes. Every award is professionally engraved to create a beautiful keepsake that recipients will proudly display for years.
Whether you're recognizing one individual or organizing an annual awards banquet, our glass awards combine quality craftsmanship with timeless style to make every presentation memorable.
🏆 Honor Outstanding Achievement
Discover beautifully engraved glass awards designed to celebrate excellence in business, education, sports, and community organizations.
Acrylic Awards
Modern, stylish, and versatile, acrylic awards are an outstanding choice for organizations looking to recognize achievement while staying within budget. Their clean lines, contemporary appearance, and wide variety of shapes and colors make them a popular option for businesses, schools, sports leagues, nonprofits, and community organizations.
Acrylic awards provide many of the same professional qualities as glass and crystal while offering exceptional durability. Because they're lightweight and resistant to breakage, they're an excellent choice for events involving large award presentations or frequent transportation.
Professionally laser engraved acrylic awards produce crisp, high-contrast personalization that beautifully showcases names, company logos, event titles, and meaningful recognition messages. Available in clear, blue, gold, black, and other accent colors, acrylic awards can easily complement your organization's branding or event theme.
Acrylic awards are especially popular for:
✔ Employee Recognition Programs
✔ Sales Achievement Awards
✔ Safety Awards
✔ Academic Recognition
✔ Student Achievement
✔ Volunteer Appreciation
✔ Sports Tournaments
✔ Annual Recognition Events
Whether you're recognizing one outstanding individual or presenting dozens of awards during an annual banquet, acrylic awards offer a professional appearance, excellent value, and lasting quality.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we offer a wide selection of custom engraved acrylic awards in contemporary styles designed to celebrate success with elegance and affordability.
🏆 Modern Recognition Starts Here
Explore our collection of custom acrylic awards designed to celebrate achievement with contemporary style and lasting quality.
Award Plaques
Award plaques have been a symbol of excellence and appreciation for generations. Their classic appearance and timeless style make them one of the most popular choices for recognizing achievement in businesses, schools, churches, civic organizations, and sports programs.
Whether displayed on an office wall, in a conference room, or at home, an engraved plaque becomes a lasting reminder of dedication, leadership, and accomplishment. Combining beautiful wood finishes with precision engraved metal plates, award plaques create a professional presentation that recipients are proud to display for years.
From years of service awards to coach appreciation, volunteer recognition, retirement gifts, and employee achievement, plaques remain one of the most versatile recognition products available.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we offer a wide variety of premium award plaques in walnut, rosewood, piano finish, and contemporary styles. Each plaque is custom engraved with names, dates, company logos, and personalized messages using professional engraving equipment that delivers crisp, permanent results.
Award plaques are an excellent choice for:
✔ Years of Service Awards
✔ Employee Recognition
✔ Retirement Gifts
✔ Coach Appreciation
✔ Volunteer Recognition
✔ Teacher Appreciation
✔ Corporate Milestones
✔ Memorial Recognition
✔ Donor Recognition
Whether you're honoring one individual or recognizing an entire team, a personalized plaque creates a meaningful keepsake that will be appreciated for years to come.
🏆 Celebrate Achievement with a Classic Award
Browse our collection of professionally engraved award plaques designed to recognize dedication, leadership, and excellence.
Corporate Recognition Awards
Recognizing employees for their dedication, leadership, and accomplishments is one of the most effective ways to build a positive workplace culture. A thoughtfully presented award demonstrates appreciation, reinforces company values, and motivates employees to continue striving for excellence.
Whether you're recognizing years of service, outstanding sales performance, leadership, innovation, safety achievements, or employee of the month, a professionally engraved award transforms an accomplishment into a meaningful and lasting memory.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we help businesses of every size create memorable recognition programs with custom engraved crystal awards, glass awards, acrylic awards, plaques, and executive gifts. Every award is personalized with employee names, company logos, award titles, and custom messages using precision laser engraving for a permanent, professional finish.
Corporate awards are ideal for recognizing:
✔ Employee of the Year
✔ Leadership Excellence
✔ Sales Achievement
✔ Years of Service
✔ Retirement
✔ Safety Awards
✔ Customer Service Excellence
✔ Innovation Awards
✔ Team Achievement
✔ Company Milestones
Whether you're presenting a single executive award or recognizing an entire department during an annual awards banquet, our personalized awards help make every presentation memorable.
Recognition isn't simply about rewarding past accomplishments—it's about inspiring future success and showing employees that their hard work truly matters.
🏆 Celebrate Your Team's Success
Reward excellence with professionally engraved corporate awards designed to recognize leadership, dedication, and outstanding performance.
Sports Awards
Every season represents months of dedication, practice, teamwork, and perseverance. Whether celebrating a championship victory or recognizing individual achievement, personalized sports awards help athletes remember the hard work that made success possible.
From youth leagues and school athletics to travel teams and recreational organizations, custom engraved awards recognize players, coaches, volunteers, and teams for their commitment both on and off the field.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we create professionally engraved sports awards for athletes of every age. Whether you need a single Most Valuable Player award or hundreds of trophies for an end-of-season banquet, we offer high-quality awards that make every accomplishment memorable.
Sports awards are perfect for recognizing:
✔ Most Valuable Player (MVP)
✔ Coach Appreciation
✔ Team Championships
✔ Tournament Winners
✔ Academic Athletes
✔ Participation Awards
✔ League Champions
✔ Volunteer Coaches
✔ Team Sponsors
✔ End-of-Season Banquets
Our awards can be personalized with player names, team logos, league names, years, and custom messages, creating keepsakes that athletes and coaches will proudly display for years.
Whether you're recognizing one outstanding player or an entire organization, we're committed to helping you celebrate every achievement with exceptional craftsmanship and precision engraving.
🏆 Celebrate Every Victory
Reward hard work, dedication, and teamwork with custom engraved sports awards designed to create lasting memories.
Retirement Awards
Retirement is more than the end of a career—it is the celebration of years of dedication, loyalty, leadership, and service. A personalized retirement award gives employers, coworkers, families, and organizations a meaningful way to honor someone who has made a lasting impact.
Whether the recipient has served for ten years, twenty-five years, or an entire lifetime, a professionally engraved award helps preserve that legacy in a way that feels personal and sincere.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we create custom retirement awards that can be personalized with names, dates, years of service, company logos, meaningful messages, and special artwork. From elegant crystal awards and glass awards to traditional plaques and personalized keepsakes, every piece is engraved with care and attention to detail.
Retirement awards are perfect for:
✔ Years of Service
✔ Career Achievement
✔ Leadership Recognition
✔ Military Retirement
✔ Police & Fire Retirement
✔ Teacher Retirement
✔ Government Service
✔ Corporate Retirement Gifts
✔ Volunteer Service
✔ Lifetime Achievement
A retirement award should reflect the importance of the person being honored. That is why we focus on creating awards that are professional, meaningful, and built to last.
Whether you are planning a formal retirement ceremony, a company luncheon, or a small family celebration, we can help you create a personalized award that honors years of hard work and dedication.
🏆 Honor a Career Well Served
Create a meaningful retirement award that celebrates dedication, service, and a lasting legacy.
Teacher & Volunteer Recognition Awards
Teachers and volunteers make a lasting difference in the lives of others through their dedication, compassion, and commitment to serving their communities. Recognizing their efforts with a personalized award is a meaningful way to say "thank you" for the countless hours they invest in helping others succeed.
Whether honoring an outstanding teacher, celebrating a volunteer's years of service, or recognizing a community leader, a custom engraved award becomes a lasting reminder that their efforts truly mattered.
At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we create personalized awards for schools, churches, nonprofit organizations, civic groups, and community programs. Every award is professionally engraved with names, logos, dates, and heartfelt messages that create keepsakes recipients will treasure for years.
Teacher and volunteer awards are perfect for recognizing:
✔ Teacher of the Year
✔ Volunteer of the Year
✔ School Staff Appreciation
✔ Church Volunteers
✔ PTA & Booster Club Members
✔ Community Leadership
✔ Mentor Recognition
✔ Youth Program Volunteers
✔ Nonprofit Service Awards
✔ Educational Excellence
Our crystal awards, glass awards, acrylic awards, and engraved plaques are designed to celebrate service, dedication, and positive impact with elegance and lasting quality.
Whether recognizing one exceptional individual or presenting awards during an appreciation banquet, we're honored to help celebrate the people who make our communities stronger.
🍎 Celebrate Those Who Make a Difference
Show your appreciation with a beautifully engraved award that recognizes dedication, kindness, and years of service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing the right custom award is an important decision. Below are answers to some of the questions we hear most often from businesses, schools, churches, sports organizations, and community groups.
How long does it take to engrave an award?
Most custom awards are completed within a few business days after artwork approval. Larger corporate, school, or tournament orders may require additional production time. If you have a deadline, let us know—we'll do everything we can to meet it.
Can you engrave our company logo or school logo?
Absolutely. We can professionally engrave company logos, school mascots, sports team logos, military insignias, church logos, and other custom artwork on most awards. For the best results, we recommend providing a high-quality vector file (AI, EPS, PDF, or SVG), although we can often work from high-resolution images as well.
Is engraving permanent?
Yes. Laser engraving permanently marks the award's surface, creating a crisp, professional finish that won't peel, fade, or wear away like printed graphics or vinyl.
Can I order just one award?
Yes! Whether you need a single personalized award or hundreds for a large event, we're happy to help. We give every order the same level of care and attention to detail.
What types of awards do you offer?
We offer a wide selection of:
✔ Crystal Awards
✔ Glass Awards
✔ Acrylic Awards
✔ Award Plaques
✔ Corporate Awards
✔ Sports Awards
✔ Retirement Awards
✔ Teacher & Volunteer Awards
✔ Custom Recognition Gifts
Do you offer bulk pricing?
Yes. We offer quantity pricing for many products, making us an excellent choice for businesses, schools, tournaments, annual banquets, and recognition programs.
Can you ship awards?
Yes. We carefully package every award to help ensure it arrives safely and ready to present.
Can you help with artwork?
Absolutely. If you need help with layouts, logos, or engraving placement, our team can assist in creating a professional design that looks great on your award.
Why Choose Sam's Engraving and Gifts?
Every award tells a story of hard work, dedication, leadership, and achievement. At Sams Engraving and Gifts, we're proud to help businesses, schools, churches, sports organizations, and families celebrate those special moments with beautifully crafted, professionally engraved awards that leave a lasting impression.
Whether you're recognizing a retiring employee, celebrating a championship team, honoring a volunteer, or presenting an executive achievement award, we believe every recognition deserves exceptional craftsmanship and personal attention.
Why customers choose us:
✔ Professional laser engraving for crisp, permanent personalization
✔ Premium crystal, glass, acrylic, wood, and metal awards
✔ Personalized with names, logos, dates, and custom messages
✔ Individual awards or large corporate and school orders
✔ Friendly, knowledgeable customer service
✔ Fast turnaround and careful packaging
✔ Family-owned business committed to quality craftsmanship
✔ Proudly serving customers across the United States
No matter the occasion, our goal is simple: create awards that recipients are proud to display for years to come. From one personalized award to hundreds for your next recognition event, we're here to help you celebrate success with confidence.
🏆 Ready to Celebrate Excellence?
Browse our complete collection of custom engraved awards and discover why organizations throughout the country trust Sams Engraving and Gifts for their recognition needs.
Continue Exploring
- Crystal Awards
- Glass Awards
- Acrylic Awards
- Award Plaques
- Sports Awards
- Corporate Awards
- Retirement Awards
- Teacher & Volunteer Awards
Thank you for visiting Sam's Engraving and Gifts. We look forward to helping you create an award that's as meaningful as the achievement it celebrates.
Shipping
Production times may vary depending on the complexity of the engraving and product availability. Normal production time is 2 – 7 days.
Yes! Free shipping is available on all orders over
$149.00
Once your order is shipped, you will receive a tracking number via email. You can use this tracking number to monitor the status and estimated delivery date of your package.
No, we currently only ship to the United States
Products
At Sams Engraving & Gifts, we offer custom laser engraving on a wide range of products, including drinkware, kitchen & dining items, accessories & decor, and more. You can explore our website & online catalogs to see the full selection. We also have a showroom where
local customers can place orders.
We can engrave most materials including: Wood, Metal, Glass & Crystal, Acrylics, Polymers, Stone, Slate & Brick, Some Plastics, Leather & Leatherette, Gold, Silver & Precious Metals.
Yes, we can engrave personal items for local customers. Please reach out and let us know what you would like engraved. Keep in mind that not all surfaces are engravable, and the quality of the engraving is determined by what the item is made of.
We can engrave most text and designs submitted as a clear black-and-white image with no colors or gray shading. For best results, we recommend true vector files such as AI, EPS, or SVG. Please note that simply saving a pixelated image as a vector file does not create a true vector image. We can also often work with high-resolution PDF, PNG, or JPEG files.
Not sure if your file will work? We’re happy to help convert files into an engravable format when possible. Please contact us with questions!
We will not engrave custom items with profanity or any other text/design that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate. We will not engrave trademarked or copyrighted text/designs without permission. We reserve the right to cancel any order as necessary. Please ask questions before ordering.
ONLINE
* Choose your product
* Choose a design or enter your design information. We will send a proof to you for approval.
* Check out
REACH OUT
Feel free to call, text or email us to place an order. This is the best option for personal assistance or special requests.
* Phone/Text: (706) 255-8826
* Email: samsengraving@gmail.com
COME SEE US
We love meeting our customers! Please visit our store located in Athens, Georgia.
Physical Address:
*3970 Atlanta Hwy, Suite A
Athens, GA, 30606
Changes or cancellations may be possible if requested shortly after placing an order. Please contact our customer support team as soon as possible to inquire about modifying or canceling your order.
We accept returns for damaged or defective items only. Products that have been personalized or altered cannot be returned unless there is a quality issue. Please refer to our Return Policy for detailed information on the process and conditions for returns.
Yes, we do! Bulk item pricing is listed with most individual item. We offer special pricing and customization options for bulk and corporate orders. Please reach out to us for more information and personalized assistance.
Local Customer Information
Our physical store is located in Athens, Georgia. Come see us at:
3970 Atlanta Hwy, Suite A
Athens, GA 30606
Mon-Fri : 10am-5:30pm
Saturdays : 10am-4:00pm
Closed Sundays
Yes, our local customers may bring in items to be engraved. Not all surfaces are engravable, and the quality of the engraving is determined by what the item is made of. The color of your engraved text/design is also determined by what your item is made of. The laser will etch into the product which will reveal the color.
*Please do not bring in sentimental or irreplaceable items to be engraved.
We can engrave most surfaces including:
* Wood
* Stone, Slate & Brick
* Glass/Crystal
* Acrylic
* Leather/Leatherette
* Polymers & Plastics (some)
* Ceramics (some)
* All Metals - including Gold, Silver & Precious Metals
**Not all surfaces are engravable, please reach out if you have questions
Still Have Questions?
Please reach out! We are available by phone, text and email. Also, please stop by our store if you are in the Athens, Georgia area.