Crown Trophy has been serving North Texas going on 18 years. Owner Lisa Meade and her and her business partner purchased the business in 2002. Meade bought the business from the business partner in 2015.

Located off Custer Road just east of 15th Street in Plano, the business specializes in creating and customizing everything from trophies, rings and medals to plaques and other items. The business serves thousands of customers each year, Meade said.

Employee Jenn Hilton uses a saw to cut columns that will be used to assemble various trophies.[/caption]

Unlike most mom and pop stores, Crown Trophy enjoys the distinction of being the only franchise trophy company in the U.S. This allows it to provide catalog services as well as access to products typically not offered by other stores, Meade said.

“Ever since we opened, we’ve been focused on quality and customer service,” she said. “I am adamant about taking care of our customers and not turning them away. We’re also the only trophy company I know of that’s open on Saturday.”

Meade and her staff of about 10 employees assemble and engrave most of the products in a workshop in the back of the store. The small production facility consists of several laser engraving machines, a sand blaster and a high-powered saw to cut decorative columns for the trophies.

At the moment, all of Crown Trophy’s employees are female. Women are good multitaskers, Meade said, a quality she said she looks for in this fast-paced line of work.

“There are times [when] you can come in here, and you can hardly see around all the boxes because there are so many trophies,” she said.

Crown Trophy’s busy seasons are in the fall and late spring to early summer. Its clients include local school districts and sports leagues, as well as companies, such as T-Mobile and Capital One. About half of its business comes from corporate clients.

Using acrylic, glass, marble and other materials, Meade said she enjoys a challenge and is willing to create just about anything for anyone.

“The one thing that I love is when a customer comes in with an idea, and we work together to create something,” she said. “Very rarely do I say that I can’t get something or I can’t do something.”