From Soldier to Author
In 2004, serving as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army, Trent Reedy couldn’t have known where his chosen path would lead him. As is the case with so many of us, we make choices, take jobs and generally make our way through life never sure of what comes next or the odd way one choice leads seamlessly to any specific outcome. But the things Reedy saw and experienced during his work on Operation Enduring Freedom in Farah, Afghanistan would go on to influence so much of his future.“My unit’s mission was to provide security for the reconstruction mission in that country. We worked with civil affairs soldiers and good Afghan people to restore and establish Afghan education, economy, and infrastructure after it had been devastated by the Soviet Union and then the Taliban,” Reedy told us in response to an in depth questionnaire we sent him. It was the ultimate effects of the Taliban on the region’s educational system that struck him quite profoundly. “This was an amazing mission, and among other things, it taught me the value of education and the importance of books, literature, art, and music to our lives and to society.”
If there’s one thing that oppressive regimes have in common, it’s the manner in which they try to attack and control education. As Reedy put it, “Nazis, Soviets, the Taliban, and evil groups like them always come for the books first. They despise creativity, enlightenment, and freedom of thought and expression.” Realizing the value of education and the importance of books in fighting against these groups pushed Reedy to become an author. He has since written seven novels for young people.
Here at Signature Coins, we’re used to getting requests for challenge coins from all walks of life, but an author reaching out to us is still something that can be a bit surprising. When we asked Reedy where the inspiration for creating his very own challenge coin came from, the answer, unsurprisingly, was his military background. “In a case on a shelf in my office where I write are my service medals and a challenge coin made and issued to me by my base commander in Afghanistan. It reminds me of the honor of serving in that mission.” In much the same way that challenge coins made their way into the private sector as retired military started the next portion of their careers, Reedy brought the challenge coin tradition with him.
Finding the Right Challenge Coin Company
As Reedy discovered when he made the decision to create a custom coin, there are multiple companies out there to choose from. “When I began searching for a company to produce my coins, I thought it would be hard to find one company, but instead the search was complicated by too many choices.” However, as in all things, not all choices are created equal.When choosing a custom coin company, it’s important to make note of what you’re looking to get out of your coins. Different companies offer different services, and not all of the challenge coin companies on the market provide the same level of custom artwork. A lot of companies work off of templates and provide designs almost exclusively for military customers. When you want a design created from scratch, it’s very important to make sure that’s an option the company you’re planning on going with offers.
“The search for my challenge coin company narrowed very quickly when I called the phone number on the Signature Coins website and spoke to a real person right away,” Reedy explained when asked which factors guided his search. “[The sales team] assured me that [the] art and design department could make nearly anything, and that I would not be limited to a premade pattern.”
Reedy sent in a few sketches for our artists to work with, something he acknowledges wasn’t easy because “I am a terrible visual artist,” and a healthy amount of written descriptions. The designs he chose have become a personal logo he’s using in his branding. He was also impressed by our unique promise to create artwork for free. When he went to get business cards made with his logo, “the business card company charged extra for their designers to create custom logos, Signature Coins did not.”
Discovering a New Mission
The words “In honor of your dedication to the mission,” is stamped onto the front of Reedy’s custom coins. This inscription in particular got us interested in exactly how Reedy, an author, was intending to use his coins. The answer was something we couldn’t even have anticipated:These days, as an author, when I speak to librarians, teachers, or booksellers around the country, I thank them for their service in this larger Mission. For it is always the same Mission. It is the struggle for freedom of thought, communication, expression, and enlightenment against forces that resist such things. It is the struggle to help people find their way to their own best destinies, connecting them to books, music, art, or whatever it is that inspires them, that they might, in turn, become a force for good. As an author I salute the people who, though perhaps not armed, and working in the safer and friendlier boundaries of America, nevertheless have a key role in this universal struggle.
As he makes his way through book tours, readings and other presentations, Reedy is honoring the librarians, educators and bookstore owners that he recognizes as his allies in the mission of bringing the joy of reading to the world. In the same way that he felt honored when his base commander in Afghanistan presented him with a challenge coin, he’s now giving other people the chance to experience that feeling. There’s no better use for custom challenge coins than that.
The Universal Lesson
As an author, Reedy is basically self-employed. He’s not only responsible for creating the content of his books, he’s also responsible for his own branding and marketing. Unlike the military or massive Fortune 500 companies, he doesn’t get to have a full team of people behind him taking on those tasks. His unique case proves that challenge coins are for everyone. All it takes is a little imagination and a desire to make someone else’s day.We know you’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to partnering with a custom challenge coin company. But we also know just how equipped we are to meet a number of different customer needs. Or, as Reedy put it when asked about working with us, “There is no pressure and not a penny spent until the coin’s design is exactly the way the customer wants it. They can make virtually any sort of challenge coin with nearly limitless design possibilities and the quality is excellent, as good or better than the challenge coins I brought home from the war in Afghanistan.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
To learn more about Trent Reedy and his work, check out his website: trentreedy.com.
