As a finalist for the 2025 Enterprising Woman Intrapreneur Award and a nominee for Business Achievement at the 2025 EmBes: A Tribute to Women, Teisha Upward has been key in helping numerous organizations recognize employees, volunteers, leaders, and winners for over two decades at JD’s House of Trophies in Sioux Falls.
In her current role as production director, she not only meets with customers to help design their items, but also can be found in the back of the warehouse fabricating many of the pieces with the variety of machines in the production department.
“I truly love what I do, but I’m not the business owner,” revealed Upward. “Being recognized as an intrapreneur acknowledges the leadership, creativity, and impact you can have within a business. It made me feel proud of the role I’ve played in helping JD’s grow and evolve.”
After more than 50 years in business, JD’s House of Trophies entered a new chapter in 2022 when ownership transitioned to Nick and Kellee Blumer. While honoring the identity of JD’s, Nick assumed day-to-day leadership with a focus on strengthening systems, tools, and resources to support the team and sustain long-term growth.
“From an ownership perspective, culture and customer experience are top priorities. When the team feels supported, respected, and set up for success, that directly shows up in the quality of service we provide.”
NICK BLUMER
New ownership came with a new logo, a remodel of the existing space, computerized work orders and a digital point of sale system, which—when combined—improved the overall efficiency and increased their production capacity.
“We added three full time staff, boosted annual sales by more than $200,000, modernized operations with a CRM system, new production equipment, innovative workflows, and early testing of AI tools to support the business,” said Nick.
For the Blumers, it’s been rewarding to see the hard work put into the business be recognized externally. In his first year of ownership, Nick and his team were awarded the 2022-2023 Small Retail Business of the Year through the Awards and Personalization Association (APA).
THE VALUE OF BUYING LOCAL
Customers can see samples, talk through ideas, have better quality control, faster turnaround times, and flexibility by buying locally through JD’s House of Trophies.
A couple years after Upward started at JD’s, she had the opportunity to go to the APA International Convention, where she not only learned about trends, skills, and services, but was offered a chance to continue education.
After two years of course work, she earned her Certified Recognition Specialist (CRS) designation.
“Earning my CRS designation was a profound moment, especially being recognized at the convention,” added Upward. “I’m currently the only CRS in South Dakota, and am looking forward to continuing my education to become a Certified Recognition Master.”
Upward continued, “As JD’s House of Trophies expands our current scope to include even more promotional items and apparel, I am also excited to start additional courses and work towards my BASI certification through the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI).”
Upward says continuing education directly benefits customers, which is why she made it a priority.
“The Sioux Falls community has been incredibly supportive. After nearly 24 years at JD’s House of Trophies, I’ve had the privilege of working with many of the same schools, nonprofits, businesses, and organizations year after year.”
TEISHA UPWARD
Nick recently graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. He says this gave him tools and perspective to make smarter decisions and grow responsibly, while staying true to the company’s values and role within the community.
It may come as a surprise to some, but JD’s House of Trophies doesn’t specialize in just trophies.
Classic plaques, acrylic awards, and crystal pieces remain favorites for customers since they’re timeless, professional, and work well for schools, businesses, and organizations, Upward added.
Her favorite projects continue to be custom pieces where a blank slate is the starting point. For Upward, “those one-of-a-kind awards always feel more meaningful.”
WHAT MAKES JD’S HOUSE OF TROPHIES STANDOUT?
How much care goes into not just the order, but the people behind every order. Most of what JD’s House of Trophies creates represents someone’s hard work, service, or milestones. Time is taken to understand the story behind it, while making sure the final piece reflects that.
“Awards and recognition are still at the core of what we do, but we also support businesses and organizations with small office signage, professional nameplates, donor and recognition displays, and custom cast bronze or aluminum plaques for memorials and outdoor recognition,” added Upward.
In addition to the awards, signage, and display items that JD’s has built their reputation on, branded items like corporate swag, custom hats, display pieces, flags, and table runners for events and trade shows have been increasingly popular with their current customers.
“At its core, our mission is about helping people recognize others in a way that feels thoughtful and personal.”
NICK BLUMER
Nick says JD’s House of Trophies has a long history of providing branded products and apparel, helping customers move beyond one-off awards to consistent recognition, events, and branding.
Another thing JD’s prides itself on is their ability to do much of the fabrication in-house. Being able to use multiple decoration and personalization methods like laser engraving, sandblasting, sublimation, and UV printing allows them to work with their customers, ensuring the quality of the final pieces is top notch and produced in a timely manner.
SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS
That background shapes how leadership, service, and accountability are approached, reinforcing a commitment to trust, consistency, and support for organizations that value service and community.
“All of it ties back to helping organizations recognize people, build culture, and present their brand in a professional way,” added Upward.
Helping others celebrate, whether it’s a student, employee, volunteer, or community leader, is both Upward’s and Nick’s favorite part about what they do. Recognition matters, Upward says.
“Our goal is for every customer to leave feeling confident, taken care of, and genuinely excited about what they’ve ordered,” added Nick. “We want the experience of working with us to feel just as thoughtful and meaningful as the recognition piece itself.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT JDSHOUSEOFTROPHIES.COM+
