11/14/2023
Thank You Barb and Corey!
We haven't had a new business to introduce lately so today we are super excited to introduce Monroe Trophy & Awards
Monroe Trophy was originally started in the 1970’s by a local, Monmouth Elementary 6th grade school teacher named Lee Welker, of Monroe, Indiana. He started out offering trophies, award plaques, and engraving with a MANUAL engraving machine set - up in a small shop in his home garage. A lot has changed since then! In 1985, Lynn and Gene Ratcliff, also from Monroe, purchased the business from Lee and moved it to their newly remodeled 2-car detached garage which they had converted for their new business venture. In the late 1990s, they decided to upgrade to a larger, downtown building. They then purchased a location across the street from the iconic and historic “Stucky Furniture" After remodeling the entire building, they moved in and enjoyed having an entire second floor for storage and assembly purposes. In December of 2014, Eric Stockman purchased the business after spending 16 years as a manager and in sales for Innovative Concepts Audio & Video. He continued the same offerings and services as before, but added apparel sales, screen printing, embroidery, and a complete sign and vehicle graphics department. In 2019, Eric purchased equipment and supplies from the retiring owners of HotCakes Screen Printing and Embroidery in Bluffton, Indiana to further enhance the available offerings of that department. With the increased customer volume and workload that came with that expansion, it didn’t take long to realize that it was way past time to find a new, larger location. In February of 2020, Eric purchased the previous Ge**er Plaza on east Monroe Street, that already housed Dollar General, The Kingdom Laundromat, United Way, and the previous Ge**er's Supervalu, among others. After a lengthy wait for the Covid epidemic to pass, he and several volunteers and friends started remodeling the old grocery store. They have been able to get a long way, but still have a ways to go. They were able to open at this new location in October of this year, still offering the same wide range of services, only with a much larger capacity and efficiency than before. Stop in to see Eric Stockman, Rhonda Zimmerman, or Steve and Teresa Loshe Today!
We encourage you to support and buy local. Go see Eric and his team at Monroe Street Trophy in Decatur.
