The Official ClassB Blog

It’s not just custom t-shirts we’re creating, we’ve created a new website design too!

This new design will allow you to more easily navigate the site so that you can find exactly what you are looking for - every time.

And if you do happen to run into a problem, our toll-free number and email address is at the top and bottom of every page! As it says, “We love to talk about T-shirts!” So give us a call or send us an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

By November 2010, we will be merging our other two custom t-shirt websites, GetYourShirts.com and CloverTees.com, into a single site at the newly redesigned ClassB.com. So this couldn’t have come at a better time.

To celebrate the redesign of our site, we are offering every customer free 9 Day Priority Service until September 17th, 2010. Get your orders in now and take advantage of this awesome offer!

We’re excited about our new design and we encourage all of our visitors to let us know what you think. Take a look at the new ClassB.com and leave a comment here. As always, we’d love to hear what you have to say!

Here at ClassB, we always strive to give our customers top-quality custom t-shirts along with the best possible customer service. In fact, we go above and beyond to exercise exceptional quality control procedures several times throughout the creation and production of your t-shirts. Unfortunately, there are times when even the most stringent quality control standards cannot prevent particular issues from occurring.

Over the past year, a very small number of our customers have reported a problem that occurred with a few of the t-shirts in their order. The problem is the bottom hem comes undone after the first washing. This happens because the lock stitch was not sewn correctly in the t-shirt manufacturing process.

We informed Gildan right away and they are aware of the issue. They traced it back to the machine that was causing the problem and repaired it. Gildan said that this type of problem rarely happens and only a small percentage of affected shirts made it past their inspectors. Less than 1 in 1,000 shirts were affected by this problem but we’re still taking it seriously.

If this happens to any of the shirts in your order, we have a few solutions to offer:

1. Send us the affected t-shirt and we will repair the hem. This is free and turnaround will be 2 days plus shipping time. This is the fastest way to get a properly hemmed shirt. Our professional seamstress will use an industrial sewing machine to restitch the hem. All shipping expenses in this case will be paid by ClassB.
2. We will send you a refund for the affected t-shirt.
3. We will reprint the shirt with our digital printing process. This method is as fast or faster than a repair (#1 above). It’s also free, but the down side is that sometimes your design cannot be digitally printed. Also, the digitally printed t-shirt will not look exactly like the Screen printed shirts in your order, but its very close.

This can happen to any stitch on your t-shirt, like on the sleeve or collar. These are extremely rare but we will deal with them in the same way, by fixing it for you. For the few customers who have experienced this problem, we sincerely apologize.

Your satisfaction is our number one priority. If you happen to receive one of these t-shirts, please let us know ASAP so we can make things right.

This week, ClassB made another step in its eco-friendly campaign by switching to rechargeable nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries in all of its AA powered digital equipment.

Both nickel and zinc are naturally occurring elements and are not harmful to our environment. The batteries contain no hazardous or toxic metals/chemicals and are friendly to our ecosystem, should they end up thrown away. Even so, they can be easily and fully recycled, over and over again, and there are currently over 50,000 battery collection sites across the USA and Canada.

NiZn batteries also produce more eco-friendly power! Standard disposable batteries have always produced more power than the rechargeable types (1.5V vs. 1.2V, respectively), but NiZn batteries have rewritten the script, offering 1.6V on a full charge. This means longer charges and better performance.

ClassB will initially be using these batteries in all wireless keyboards, mouses and digital cameras because NiZn batteries are only available in the AA size. However, as NiZn technology advances and more battery sizes become available, we will be switching to those as well.

You can find out more about ClassB’s environmental sustainability plan and the other eco-friendly steps we are taking by visiting our Eco-T Roadmap page.

ClassB was proud to be able to send several of our employees to visit the 2010 BSA Jamboree. As an official Boy Scouts of America® Licensee, we strive to give our employees the real-world experience we feel is necessary to provide the best possible service. Naturally, the Jamboree was the perfect avenue for us to gain that real-world experience.

As we hiked the miles of trails and explored the many different exhibits and presentations at the Jamboree, we soon realized that we were not the only BSA Licensee at the Jamboree this year. We found a couple of other proud BSA Licensees as well. Silver Creek Leather Co. and ArtCarved® both had booths set up to display their excellent products.

Silver Creek Leather Co. had a really nice product presentation and education area set up at the Merit Badge Midway. They had a section set up where Scouts could make all sorts of leather crafts, like belts and moccasins, and earn their Leatherwork Merit Badge. Greg Sartor, owner of Silver Creek Leather Co., is shown in the photo below with ClassB CEO, Eric Hilferding, along with more photos of their popular exhibit.

ArtCarved® also had an impressive and educational exhibit to see. ArtCarved® specializes in producing personalized jewelry that celebrates family, pride and love. They also produce BSA Licensed rings, which look just like high school and college class rings.

Their booth showed us exactly how the rings are made, from an initial carving in soft material, to a stunning piece of gold, platinum or silver jewelry. ArtCarved® is one of the most respected names in jewelry today, and we can see why. The pictures below show you the initial carvings and the finished product.

It was great to see our fellow licensees at the Jamboree. Make sure to check them out on Facebook too:

• Silver creek Leather Co. Facebook Page
• ArtCarved® Facebook Page
• ClassB Facebook Page

And for more information on BSA Licensing, check out their website here.

As we bring our coverage of the 2010 Jamboree to a close, you can bet we’ll be right back here covering the 2013 Jamboree from its new home in West Virginia. Thanks to all of you who have been following!

As the 2010 BSA Jamboree comes to a close and thousands of Scouts return home to share their experiences with their families, I think it’s safe to say that this year’s Jamboree was a huge success.

ClassB was proud to be able to send several of our employees to this year’s event. But what delighted us even more was the considerable amount of our T-shirts that we saw all over the campgrounds.

Every now and then we get to see our shirts in action when we visit campgrounds or gather with local troops, but seeing them on so many Scouts of every age and from every corner of the world got us truly excited. It made us feel like we were actually a part of the Jamboree experience. As our CEO, Eric Hilferding said in a previous post, “I walked away from this year’s Jamboree feeling like ClassB was a part of the Scouting movement, and I really want to thank our customers.”

Thank you so much to our dedicated and loyal customers and supporters! We know that we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.

Click on any picture to view larger image:

Even in the pouring rain!

It’s nice to see many aspects of the Jamboree haven’t changed since I attended as a scout many Jamboree’s ago. Just looking around you could tell that the Scouts were still having a great time, you could see it in their faces. They had been there for days tolerating the heat and dodging torrential rainstorms - and they were all still smiling.

The Jamboree spirit of pride, fellowship and common loyalty is just as alive today as it always has been.

Many of the Scouts still traded patches on a makeshift trading table, a towel or blanket, by the side of the trails, just as I had done. For those of you who have never experienced Jamboree patch trading, it’s just like the stock market, where the value of any particular patch changes day by day. Many of these “traders” are likely to be learning worthwhile lessons that will help them later in life.

The troop campsites had not changed at all, except that some of the tents seem to have gotten pretty high-tech. The gateways to each camp were an expression of the pride for each troop’s area, like the Utah troops having dinosaur and desert pioneer themes. Many troops had obviously put in a lot of time designing and building some very impressive gateways.

The lines at the concession stands were long, as I remember. If I had more time I would have waited in line for my Jamboree favorite of french fries with nacho cheese and jalapenos.

But it wasn’t all the same as I remember it. There were some things that were simply bigger and better than at previous Jamboree’s.

One thing was very new to me, and a welcome upgrade to the Jamboree experience. They had terrific 3G coverage from AT&T, so I was able to use my phone to navigate and write this post in the same spot where I used to lay my own patch trading blanket. The wireless coverage also alleviated the anxiety of many-a-parent, as the boys could call or text their parents every day.

Merit badge midway was moved to a much larger area, closer to the visitors point of entry. This gave every merit badge the extra room needed to really do a good job instructing the Scouts.

I also thought that the Venturing area was very impressive. In fact, most of the action areas were dramatically upgraded from my day. They had huge rappelling towers, mountain bike tracks and archery and shotgun ranges. Scouts were even snorkeling and learning scuba in many huge pools found throughout the Jamboree site.

It was great to find the Scouts having such a great time, knowing that they were all making memories that will last their entire lives. And while things may be a little bigger and a little better with each passing Jamboree, the core values and camaraderie remain the key, underlying qualities of the event.

The day was amazing! We saw scores of Scouts wearing shirts from ClassB. At one point I was trying to count as I walked through the crowd, but I gave up - the numbers were staggering! I stopped to talk to the first dozen or so and everyone was very pleased with their shirts. My t-shirt had our ClassB logo on it and many people recognized the company right away.

I walked away from this year’s Jamboree feeling like ClassB was a part of the Scouting movement, and I really want to thank our customers.

The Jamboree was very well run and I was hugely impressed just how much BSA had done for the event.

Our Vice President, Gregg Hilferding, who is also an Eagle Scout, has been a licensed amateur radio (also called HAM radio) operator for the last 15 years, so he was naturally drawn to the HAM radio area at the Jamboree. Here are some pictures and information that Gregg sent back to us.

If you’re looking for a hobby and you enjoy electronics and communications, then I think I have the perfect activity for you.

It’s called Amateur Radio and it’s really cool.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how HAM radio still has so many practical uses, even with today’s advanced technologies. And in some very critical times, amateur radio is actually much better equipped to handle and transmit information than any other method out there.

When the phone lines are down and the power is out, you can pretty much put everything else on hold. But with amateur radio, you can still communicate over a broad area and over very long distances. This makes amateur radio the perfect communication system in times of emergency or natural disaster.

This is an awesome advantage which I think is going to allow amateur radio to stick around for a very long time. It saves lives and helps people in times of need, and it is used to provide reliable communication for civil defense officials and the Red Cross.

Above left: ClassB CEO, Eric Hilferding with a tornado spotter truck, which utilizes HAM radio to broadcast tornado warnings and locations. Above right: Scouts learning about HAM radio and watching actual operators.

But it is not just for times of disaster. It can be fun too!

The ARRL, the national association for amateur radio, is at the Jamboree this year offering licensing classes for Scouts to get their HAM Radio licenses right here at the Jamboree. The staff have been broadcasting on-site since July 26th and will continue until August 4th. And those who earn their licenses while they’re here (or bring them from home if they already have a license) can join right in and operate on the air.

Every year, Scouts who have earned their licenses can participate in a fun event called “Jamboree On The Air,” or JOTA. It is a worldwide event that usually lasts a couple of days. Scouts from all over the World talk to each other by way of amateur radio. They discuss scouting events, experiences and ideas all via the radio.

If you’re interested in learning about picking up amateur radio as a hobby, or if you want to find more information about it, check out the ARRL website today. You can learn all about it there.

Amateur radio is an awesome and interesting learning experience that I would definitely recommend to anyone. And from the looks on the Scouts faces here at the Jamboree, they love it too!

If you have experience with amateur radio, whether on the transmitting or receiving end, make sure to leave a comment and let us know what YOU think!

ClassB Artist, Rachel, who sent us this great story about Brownsea Island, also got the chance to visit the Armed Forces Adventure Area at the Jamboree.

According to Rachel, the U.S. military had a remarkably impressive exhibit area, where military personnel gave presentations and displayed some of their respective branch’s equipment. You could even challenge one of the soldiers to a push-up or sit-up competition (but Rachel respectfully declined).

Her favorite section was that of the National Guard, home of the BSA Patch Wall, which is actually two walls. The full US map was done in 2005 and had many of the patches we designed for the contingents. The second map they were currently putting together was being filled out as scouts came in with their patches to add to the wall for 2010.

“I took some pics of our home state of Florida and zeroed in on our closest council - our good friends from Gulf Ridge Council. I designed the Sheikra Busch Gardens patch for GRC. It was a cool thing to see some of my work represented on the wall from 5 years ago!”

After the patch wall, my favorite part of this exhibit was their incredibly cold tent AC during their presentation! After days in the heat, I’m sure the Scouts couldn’t get enough of it. The presentation, on the National Guard, was actually quite impressive and motivating.

The Coast Guard had a display area that was pretty neat as well. I stopped there to see an exhibit of some of their communications equipment. They also had thermal scopes you could look through which allow our soldiers to “see in the dark.” The quality of the thermal image was unbelievable.

Another interesting booth was about awareness of unexploded ordinance, well worth attending, since I have personally come across military rounds in the woods near my home and was not sure what to do with them. Now I know!

The U.S. Military is a formidable and awesome force to be reckoned with, and they put on a great exhibit this year at the Jamboree. I learned a TON about our Armed Forces and was very impressed by the entire area. I’m sure the boys loved it too.

Oh, and they were passing out free t-shirts, of course I couldn’t pass on one!

If you had the chance to visit the Armed Forces Adventure Area, let us know what you thought about it and leave a comment below.

As we go through our daily lives, we’ll usually come across something that we consider to be a hassle or that, because it happened to us, is unfortunate or just plain unlucky. And we all know that sometimes those little things can add up to one pretty bad day.

But as we get home and settle into our sofa and start watching our favorite TV show, it gets very easy to forget that even though we had a bad day, there are millions of other people in the world who would have given anything to experience the rotten day that we just had.

Able-bodied people take things for granted all the time that others would consider a blessing to be able to do without the aid of a special tool or the help of someone else.

Just last weekend I went to dinner and a movie. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been if I was confined to a wheelchair or was unable to speak. These things that we consider simple and easy can be monumental tasks for those with disabilities.

And that is exactly what the Disabilities Awareness section of the Jamboree teaches the Scouts and Jamboree visitors. One of our Customer Service experts, Missy, was there and experienced some the challenging (but fun) activities, and here’s what she told us about the experience.

They had 18 different challenges to participate in. They were playing basketball from wheelchairs, doing archery from a wheelchair (and you had to load the bow and arrow with one hand!) Scouts were walking on crutches while going through an obstacle course of tires and barrels to get over. One of the challenges showed the difficulty of getting a wheelchair up and down a curb. They even had scouts bowling from wheelchairs.

They also had braille compass reading and basic sign language, and there was a course that had to be navigated while the boys wore glasses they could not see out of and could only use a walking-cane to guide their way.

The challenges were done respectfully, and I felt that the boys actually got a good understanding of what it would be like to be in a wheelchair, or blind or disabled in any other way. A lot was there to be learned.

There are many different types of disabilities too…its not limited to physical conditions. Some people are blind or deaf, some people were born with a congenital disease like Muscular Dystrophy, some people have learning disabilities, psychiatric issues or speech/language problems.

The focus of Disability Awareness is not simply to teach people about disabilities, but how to communicate and empathize with those who have them.

Like I said above, it’s easy to forget about those with disabilities if it is not present in your life, but when you do come across someone with a disability, it is important that you treat them with respect and allow them to maintain their dignity. They are human just like you - and they deserve the respect that you would give anyone else.

Remember that tomorrow, you could be the one with the disability.

In addition to giving those with disabilities fair and respectful treatment, education is perhaps the most important thing we need right now to get the word out about those with disabilities.

If you have the time and wish to help spread the word, you can visit Disability.gov to see how you can help.

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Brownsea Island is the historical location of the very first Scout camp conducted by Robert Baden-Powell in 1907.

One of our talented artists, Rachel, is at the Jamboree and was able to do a little time traveling! Here’s what she experienced at Jambo’s Brownsea Island Camp.

It’s crazy to think that just 50 years ago there was no such thing as the Internet, no cell phones, no IPads or mp3 players. These were nothing but fantasies - if they were even thought of at all!

In today’s world, all these things are looked at as, well…ordinary. AT&T has even set up wireless Internet stations around the camp for those of us who need to get our technology fix.

Given today’s amazing technology and the ability to connect with others anywhere on the planet in an instant, it’s almost impossible to believe that there used to be no Internet…no wireless connections…no email.

But thanks to the excursion I participated in today, I know what it was like to be without all of that technological stuff - to live in the early 1900’s and visit the first ever scouting camp at Brownsea Island.

The sign above the entrance to the Brownsea Island exhibit reads: “Brownsea Island Ferry” (Brownsea Island is only accessible by boat or ferry). As we walked in, a young man in period clothes and a British accent respectfully asks everyone who enters to “ring the bell to the right” as you enter a re-creation of what was the first boy scout camp set up in 1907 by Robert-Baden Powell.

All the actors stayed in character the whole time and really felt as if you were walking into Scouting’s past.

Set up on the right was a plywood cutout of a whale and boys had the chance to try out their harpooning skills. They also had a basketball hoop, ball toss game and a classroom where scouts learned about the different flags and their symbolism.

There were actors there who played the parts of Charles and Florence van Raalte who bought the island in 1901. They allowed Baden Powell to use the property to hold the first scout camp. I spoke with the actress who played Florence van Raalte who was a kind enough to offer me some water from a glass pitcher and she showed me some of the drawings she was working on of the castle where she lived nearby.

The actor playing Robert-Baden Powell began blowing a kudu horn, signaling the start of the camp. The greater kudu is a woodland antelope and he captured one during the Matabele campaign in Zimbabwe.

It was very interesting seeing first hand how things were, and how the Scouts passed their time back in the early 1900’s. But the time travel came to an end as the day quickly drew to a close. It was back to 2010 and the end of another great day at the Jamboree.

As we hopped into the van and rode back to the hotel, I started getting the urge to check my cell phone messages and my Facebook account, wondering where technology would be in another 20 years.

But then I started thinking about those kids on Brownsea Island. Wow, what a difference 100 years has made.

It kind of puts a dropped cell phone call into perspective, huh?

Make sure and leave a comment below and tell us what you think!