The first place for trophies

The trophies will be cleaned and given new nameplates so they can be awarded at the end of the year.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Students at the Fairhaven Workshop can soon begin working on the latest round of donations toward the annual awards ceremony.
A.E. Vea, owner of A.E. Vea Karate in Liberty, is donating about 100 trophies to Fairhaven today so they can be cleaned and used again.
"This is what we do here," said school principal Gail Winner. "We take the donations of trophies from throughout the community, and we recycle them.
"We don't solicit the donations, but it is a way for us to be able to give out the trophies at our awards ceremony at the end of the year."
Running out of space
Vea said most of the trophies were left at his studios throughout the years by former students, and as more trophies are won each year, he was fast running out of space.
"There's not a great market for those, so we wanted to come up with some way they could be used again instead of just thrown out," he said. "I called Fairhaven and offered them, and they accepted."
Winner said through the years, many trophy donations have come in from families whose children excelled in sports.
"Sometimes people will call trophy shops and ask if they accept old trophies, and the shop owners will tell them that we do," she said.
Vea's donation includes some trophies as tall as three feet, and some dating back more than 30 years. Others feature marble bases and metal fixtures, which are no longer common.
He said more than 1,500 trophies have found a home in his studios throughout the Mahoning Valley.
Refurbishing
Winner said students will take the trophies, clean them, remove any heads they may not be able to use, and take off the old nameplates and replace them with new ones.
Each year, the school gives out between 40 to 60 trophies to students for both academic and athletic achievements, she said.
"The donations are a great way for us to continue that program without spending a lot of money," she said.
"If we didn't get the donations then we wouldn't give out trophies; it's just a nice added bonus for the kids."
As for his part, Vea said he plans to talk with karate associations throughout the country to have other instructors put old trophies to use in a similar manner.
"These youngsters are the real champs," he said. "It's a great program they have there, and that's where I would stick my money."
Winner said the school does accept trophy donations from anyone, but tries to monitor the flow to make sure they don't have too many in storage at any given time. Those interested in donating can contact Winner at the school at (330) 652-5811.
slshaulis@vindy.com