War Vet Sells Plaques in Peekskill

YORKTOWN, N.Y. --Whether you’re looking to congratulate a pack of Boy Scouts or a bowling team, Irving Breitbart’s nearby company, Eagle Awards and Trophy Company, Inc., has a plaque for that.

Now based in Peekskill’s Beach Shopping Center, the company has been making trophies, medals and other awards for clients such as West Point United States Military Academy an the Mahopac Fire Department for more than 20 years. 

It also sells batches of military insignia to various organizations, hitting Breitbart a bit close to home as a veteran of the Korean War.

“It feels great—I’m talking with my fellow veterans so I know there won’t be any problems,” Breitbart said about working with his comrades. Just when I stopped by his store, Breitbart got a call from a Korean War veteran based in Kansas hoping to order some materials for his organization. The business owner said he has taken r?e?q?u?e?s?t?s? like this one from as far as Hawaii.

The Yorktown resident of the past four decades began making and selling these awards back in 1981 after retiring from work in the textiles industry. He now designs and engraves all the products in his on-site workshop ?? to ensure the quality of his work. Upon my visit there, he proudly showed me a trophy he created for the Hudson Valley Hospital Center’s bowling team depicting a man and woman bowling on top of a cup engraved to identify? ?which hospital department had won in past years.

“This is it, this is the ballgame—you have to enjoy what you do,” he said of his career.

Running one’s own business is also about satisfying the customer, he said. Just last week, Breitbart remembers a woman came by hoping to buy 20 engraved beer stein mugs for his husband’s birthday party that Saturday. When a malfunction from the factory left some of the cups damaged upon arrival, the company president and his team made sure they were replaced immediately—a seemingly impressive feat right before the weekend.  

“[The customer] was tickled pink,” Breitbart remembered.

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