THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701180385
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KENNAN NEWBOLD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 70 lines
Mark Jacobson has 15,000 reasons to watch the Presidential Inaugural Parade on Monday. And they'll all be on the heads of parade participants.
By Saturday, Jacobson, owner of Jacobson Screenprinters and Jacobson Embroidery, will have shipped to the nation's capital about 15,000 baseball caps embroidered with the official inaugural seal. The company has also produced 5,000 souvenir T-shirts, as well as tens of thousands of sweat shirts, jackets and other items bearing the seal for the 53rd Presidential Inauguration.
It was a hefty order, but Jacobson said the family owned business, now in its third generation, frequently does work for high-profile clients in Washington, including the Smithsonian, the FBI and the CIA. ``Anyone wearing a badge,'' he said.
``We do all sorts of work for the White House and the Secret Service,'' he added. ``We have a good reputation in Washington. We've been doing business with the White House for four to five years. A track record is a track record.''
Jacobson said his company, which handled a smaller order for President Clinton's firstinauguration, is the only one in the area turning out inaugural apparel this year. But if the employees are excited about their role in history, they hide it well.
Because filling the inaugural work order required no overtime or extra hands to get the job done, the handful of employees folding shirts in packing boxes Thursday gave no indication that the inaugural T-shirts were different from any others. The factory's atmosphere was pleasantly calm.
``The Inaugural Committee was looking for the best prices, and we were very competitive,'' said Jacobson. ``It's for the country. It's all to celebrate the inaugural. I would have been just as happy if it had been for Bob Dole because it's the presidency.''
After the company got the job, Jacobson's art director designed two official inaugural T-shirts. About 1,000 have been sent north already; 3,500 more were to be shipped this weekend.
Unfortunately, none is for sale in Norfolk. Jacobson is not allowed to sell any of the official items being sent to the Inaugural Committee. A store on Pennsylvania Avenue and a mail-order catalog will carry his products.
Jacobson said that while his company does most of its business out of town, it has also served big local clients, including the Admirals, city police departments, Old Dominion University, the Tides and the military.
When Colin Powell retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993, the White House asked Jacobson's company to embroider a jacket for the former general. A signed thank-you from the president now hangs in the screenprinting factory's store on Ingleside Road.
Despite the hoopla over the inaugural events, Jacobson has no plans to attend the ceremonies, though he said it'll be a thrill to see thousands of his hats on TV.
``It's too much of a merchandising contest this year,'' he said.
After more than a month of working on inaugural paraphernalia, Rudy Gurley, a partner in Jacobson Embroidery, has no plans to attend the inauguration either.
``I've seen all the inaugural stuff I want to see,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
HUY NGUYEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Beverly Dortch of Jacobson Screenprinters in Norfolk sends a batch
of official inaugural T-shirts on their way to the dryer.
The Norfolk-produced inaugural shirts will carry this decorative
embroidered patch.