My parents are moving from their home of 30 years into a much smaller and probably their final house. They were long active in SCCA stuff and my mom asked for ideas of what to do with their old trophies, plaques, etc. that they no longer want. They will keep the really meaningful stuff like "XXX of the Year" awards, etc. but need to purge probably 90%. They have lots of stuff going back to the '70s and maybe even '60s including engraved silver plated platters and julep cups, etc. that just tarnish and the cheap plating gets thinner when you clean them. I too am trying to thin down a lot of excess stuff and have probably 40+ wood plaque awards from years ago solos, rallies, races, etc. that I'd just as soon get rid of. They sit in heavy boxes in the basement and haven't seen light of day since the last move.

Years ago when our SCCA region was on tough financial times, they actually took donated old plaques and awards and put new fronts on them to save trophy budget money but now they are on a strong footing and don't do it anymore. When I was trophy chairman and needed to save money, we did special coffee mug awards and those still remain useful while the rest become clutter factor.

I am interested if anyone has any suggestions for reuse or dispersal.

 

I've seen the old ones sell on eBay. Maybe donate them to one of those bars or resturants with stuff all over the walls? I've kept only 4 or 5 of my trophies over the years - the ones that actually represent "good" wins or particular memories. Each of the others went home from the race with the first little kid that I saw in the paddock although one was still hanging behind the desk at the KOA campground we used to stay at for one of the hillclimbs in Oregon, several years after I gave it to the little old lady who ran the place as a thank-you for her hospitality...

K

 

Donate them. I believe Special Olympics happily accepts used trophy donations.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kedwards &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Donate them. I believe Special Olympics happily accepts used trophy donations.
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Other organizations will take them as well.

 

Boy Scouts! The use them for Pinewood derbies, etc...

Dan

 

Hadn't thought of the Special Olympic or the Cub Scouts. Good ideas . Probably tax deductible as well if you could assign a value and that would be doubly good.