About

Bob manages the day to day operations of Bennett Awards. He feels extremely lucky to be involved in a pursuit that marries art, design, and business, all things he is very passionate about. Bob has been surrounded by art and artists his entire life: his father and uncle were the well-known sculptors Bob (Sr.) and Tom Bennett (aka Bennett Sculpture), and his sister Ashley and cousin Terrie are both respected multi-medium artists. Despite these artistic roots, Bob initially took an alternate route and pursued a career in business. Prior to founding Bennett Awards, he held senior marketing roles with Intel, HP and Accenture, and co-founded/sold a technology start-up. Bob earned an MBA with distinction from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a BA with honors from Stanford University, where he played varsity football and was a Firestone Medal recipient. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and music.

Ryan is a design jack-of-all-trades for Bennett Awards, and finds himself involved in both external client design projects, as well as internal design and marketing projects. Fresh out of school in the mid 2000’s, Ryan first cut his teeth in the world of design working alongside an Architect/Developer locally based in Northern California. After several years, and dozens of homes later, he eventually shifted his design focus and moved into the industrial design world. He began designing/building/prototyping/branding small consumer products and furniture for both himself, as well as by contract. Ryan lives for design and technology, and is fascinated by their social implications. He also has an unhealthy addiction to Spotify. Ryan joined the Bennett team in the late summer of 2012, and loves the creative, team-oriented environment that exists at the studio. His position gives him the opportunity to apply, on a daily basis, the words he lives by: “No one ever learned anything new by coloring inside the lines.” - Thomas Vasque

Sarah manages all aspects of marketing at Bennett Awards. A Sacramento native, Sarah graduated from UCLA with a degree in Interpersonal Communications. After graduation she worked in travel planning and event management securing international logistics for leisure and adventure travel vacations. She also spent two years assisting online customers as the Community Relations Coordinator for an online retailer startup that was purchased by Etailz. Prior to joining Bennett Awards, Sarah pursued a passion for Yoga, which led her to teaching full-time for Corepower Yoga in Sacramento and training teachers as a lead facilitator for 200-Hour teacher trainings. Sarah is a newlywed currently living in Rocklin with her husband and stepdaughter. She is happy to be a member of the Bennett awards team where she enjoys the creative culture in the office.

As an Account Manager, Kim develops client projects from initial design conception all of the way through production. Born and raised in a small town on the eastern shore of Maryland, Kim moved out west in 2007 with a desire to pursue the fields of design and art. After graduating from Sacramento State with a BA in Marketing Design, Kim has continuously worked closely with clients to learn how to creatively tailor products to meet their key needs and desires. Her career has included owning her own designer consignment boutique, being a lead stylist for Stitchfix, and working as a freelance journalist, securing placements in publications like British Vogue. Most recently, Kim worked as a Visual Merchandiser at Nordstrom, where she enjoyed the challenge of creating designs that take up space in an appealing, yet functional, way. In her current role at Bennett Awards, Kim is super excited and inspired by her coworkers. She’s also especially passionate about the new product line, Awardology and the future of more sustainably-driven recognition products. Outside of the office, Kim enjoys reading, watching British TV, beading, hanging out with her husband and two stepkids, and hiking with her terrier mix rescue puppy, Dewey.

When you call Bennett Awards, chances are the friendly voice that you hear on the other end of the line is Carmen. Carmen is the “face” of Bennett Awards, and the first person you see when you enter our office. Carmen enjoys communicating with all of the folks that cross Bennett Awards’ path – from vendors through customers…unless, of course, they are Dodger fans. (Did we mention that Carmen is a die-hard SF Giants fan, and perhaps the only person on earth that still has a Jason Schmidt jersey?). Carmen also helps manage customer award projects, so you may cross paths with her at multiple points of engagement with Bennett Awards. Like many of the other folks at Bennett Awards, Carmen moved to the Sierra Nevada foothills from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked for a major water utility. In her time away from work, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching her son play baseball, and exploring the many beautiful areas surrounding her in the foothills. Oh, and cheering for the Giants.

Jonnie keeps all the operational aspects of Bennett Awards running smoothly, from initial material procurement all the way though final award shipment. This role takes advantage of her versatility and exceptional organization skills. Jonnie came to Bennett Awards after several years of being a stay-at-home mom for her three boys. During that time, Jonnie was also involved in a variety of volunteer and work-at-home activities, including serving on a number of different boards, working for an environmental company, and acting as a “team mom extraordinaire” (no, really!) for her sons’ many sports teams. Jonnie’s prior work experience was with a high-tech company, where she worked in their sales, marketing and HR departments. Jonnie first became familiar with Bennett Awards from the many years that her boys and the Bennett kids went to school and played sports together – Bob was even a coach for her boys when they were young. Jonnie feels very fortunate to have had the opportunity to join the Bennett “family” and spend time with people that are fun and special to be around. In her off time, Jonnie continues to stay busy with her family, mostly in the sports arena as all her boys play sports year-round.

James started his career as an artist for Disney. He later branched off and began creating three-dimensional art, in the form of puppets, for a variety of organizations in the United States, including Disney Parades, Disney Cruise Lines, Busch Gardens Theme Parks, Nike and Universal Studios. James switched gears in the mid 2000’s and refocused his artistic talents on the animation field, working on various projects for companies like Sesame Street and Scholastic Books. James moved from Florida to Placerville in 2012, and began working with people with disabilities, a move that has helped shape James in many positive ways. James began working with Bennett Awards as a side project, and has now transitioned to a full member of the Bennett Awards team, where he feels right at home.

Frank performs the shipping and assembly component of the operations at Bennett Awards. Frank is the last person to touch the finished awards before they ship, and takes great pride in making sure our customers receive the right item in excellent condition. Frank started his career working for manufacturing companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, fabricating and shipping rare and expensive metals for the high tech and aerospace industries. Frank met his wife at the turn of the century, while partying like it was 1999 (which it was). Soon after, they moved to the Sacramento area and opened a fly fishing store. After about 10 years of fishing all day and becoming a certified trout nerd, Frank realized that he was going to have to get a “real” job, so back to shipping and manufacturing he went. When Frank is not at work, you can often find him looking for native and wild trout, bass fishing on his local lake, or home brewing a delicious IPA.

Born and raised in Sacramento, Martin has always had a love for all things artistic. From design to traditional art, and from film to motion graphics, there is very little that he hasn't tried. Fresh out of San Francisco State University, where he received a B.A in Industrial Arts, Martin found his way into the start-up world in the heart of Downtown San Francisco working as a Graphic Designer working for a up-and-coming company called Sincerely Inc. After two years working in San Francisco, he found his way back to Sacramento working as a Wedding and Portrait Photographer. When Martin isn't at a photoshoot or designing, you'll most likely find him at the theaters watching the latest movie or at home playing video games.

Alice works on a variety of strategic initiatives for Bennett Awards, including vendor relationships, strategic partnerships, and new production capabilities. Along with her husband Bob, she has been surrounded by art the last 30+ years, and loves applying this immersion in art to new client award projects. Alice loves developing new, creative award ideas that deliver on the true objective of what her customers are looking for. Prior to starting Bennett Awards, Alice was an art consultant in the Bennett Sculpture chain of art galleries, and, prior to that, worked in advertising for a division of Olgilvy and Mather. Alice graduated from San Diego State University, and still needs to get an occasional “beach fix”. When she is away from the office, she enjoys spending time with her four kids, puttering in her garden with her chickens, boating in the local mountain lakes, and running (she has four marathons under her belt!). Alice’s nickname in high school was “Mom”, and we all think that still applies (in the best way, of course!).