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From the Desk of...

Just the facts:

A-Frame Awards Inc.

Where: 414 S. Dort Highway, Flint.
What: Offers a full line of recognition awards,
promotional products, gifts, engravables, writing
instruments, apparel and advertising specialties.
Founder: Owner and President: Ben Roof, 72,
of Swartz Creek, Michigan
Founded: 1984
Employees: 8
Building Size: 5,000 square feet
Details: (810) 767-8881 or aframeawards.com

Army Veteran Creates
Successful, Rewarding Business

Ben Roof

After working for 22 years, Ben Roof suddenly found himself unemployed in 1984 when the company he worked for was sold.

Making matters worse, Roof was living in Genesee County, where the jobless rate at the time was in double digits.

"Nobody was hiring," Roof recalled. "I interviewed with eight firms. But there was nothing out there."

So, at age 48, the Army veteran decided to go into business for himself. That was 24 years ago.

Today, Roof still is going strong as the founder, owner and president of A-Frame Awards Inc., which has grown to become one of the leading full-line recognition suppliers in the Midwest.

Roof and his eight full- and part-time employees offer a complete line of recognition awards, promotional products, gifts, engravables, writing instruments, apparel and advertising specialties.

He operates out of an A-frame-style building in Flint, the same location where he launched his business on Feb. 4, 1984.

It wasn't an easy launch.

During a recent interview, Roof outlined the steps — and the risks — he took to start his own business.
First, he contacted four suppliers he had worked with in his previous job, which also involved selling awards and other promotional items. All four suppliers agreed to extend him lines of credit. That meant he would have products to sell.

Then he tried to get a small business loan, but was turned down.

"So I said, 'OK, we'll have to do it on our own then,'" Roof said.

He cashed out his retirement plans. He cashed in his insurance policies. He mortgaged his house. Then, using that as working capital, he opened his business.

"When we opened the store, it was pretty skimpy at the time. We didn't have a lot of inventory," Roof recalled.

Before opening his own business, Roof had been heavily involved in the community, especially in the sports community.

"I hoped some of my involvement would translate into sales," he said.

It did.
It also led him to people who ordered awards. They in turn led him to others — coaches, bowling leagues and similar groups — that also bought awards.

Over the years, his customers have grown to include non-profit organizations and businesses throughout Genesee, Shiawassee and Oakland counties, including churches, sport teams and leagues and virtually all of the school districts in the three-county region.

His clients also include three national accounts, one of which has 600 franchises around the country.

Perhaps his most unusual customer is the American embassy in Barat, Indonesia, which orders wall plaques and other items.

Now 72, Roof still works 60 hours a week at the business.

"Anybody who thinks they are going into business to work 9 to 5, five days a week, has another thing coming," he said. "It takes a tremendous amount of commitment" to operate a successful business today.

He also has remained committed to the local sports community and it to him.

His involvement with the bowling community began when he was 18 and over the years he became acquainted with all of the better bowlers in the area.

After he was discharged from the U.S. Army, where he served a two-year stint, he said he again became active in the sport.

"When we started A-Frame Awards, I was asked to sit on the board of directors of the Flint Bowling Association," he said.

During the next 10 years, he moved from director to third vice president, to second vice president, to first vice president and eventually to president.

After serving the allowable one-year term, he was given the position of past president and life member, as was the case with all other past presidents.

Roof was inducted into the Flint Bowling Hall of Fame in 1988 in recognition of his bowling ability. And In 2004, he was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame for special service.

Roof and his wife, Bertha, were married in August 1958. Just one year later, he was drafted into the Army.

He went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and then to advanced training at Fort Gordon, Ga.

From there, he was shipped to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he worked as a radio teletype operator.

"During that two years, my wife and I saw each other just twice," Roof said.

After mustering out, he went to work for a friend and stayed with that business for 22 years. And it was when that business was sold that Roof was compelled to start his own business.

On his company's Web site, Roof's sums up his business philosophy this way: "Do whatever it takes to get the job done — done right and done on time."

Carl Stoddard
Maj. MIARNG (Ret.)

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