As images of Operation Desert Storm flashed across America's television screens in 1991, a Broken Arrow couple walked into the offices of Inola Casting Works to ask George Freeman, founder and CEO, to make something they could wear demonstrating support for their 19-year-old son serving in the 145th Infantry Division.

Soon after the pewter bracelet inscribed with the division's insignia was given to the young soldier's mother, requests from other parents, spouses, and relatives of soldiers--many of them young and away from home for the first time--came pouring in. According to Stephani Freeman, the elder Freeman's daughter and Inola Casting Works' company spokesperson and vice president of sales and marketing, her father saw an opportunity to reach beyond the 145th and help all those serving in Operation Desert Storm.

Founded just a year earlier in 1990, the fledgling company's 11 employees included Freeman, who worked part-time on the assembly line after high school and her brother, David. Employees worked around the clock--often volunteering their time--to craft a United Service Organization-approved bracelet, raising more than $3,000.

"Growing up, my father always told us that he'd never be a rich man," Freeman says. "His company would always be more about taking care of his employees and their families and giving back to the community than outlandish profits. His reasoning: if you don't give something back, you just might lose it all."

Located along the Old Hwy 33 access road in Inola and now employing 25 full- and part-time employees, Inola Casting Works offers a variety of custom pewter product lines, including team trading pins, jewelry, figurines, key chains, dog tags, ornaments, clocks, picture frames, medallions, chokers, belt buckles, and golf accessories.

Family Owned and Operated
Truly a family business, George Freeman's, oldest daughter, Cheryl Charles, serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and secretary/treasurer on the board. David Freeman now serves as president and production manager.

According to Freeman, her father worked out of the home basement as a freelance sculptor for many years, making a variety of contacts in the jewelry industry. In 1990, one of those contacts based in California approached him about opening a manufacturing facility to make southwest-style jewelry--a product line that still represents a good portion of Inola Casting Works business.

In 1992, Inola Casting Works secured a U.S. Small Business Administration loan through Verd-ark-a in Muskogee and bought out its financial backers, becoming its own company.

Major customers include large concession and advertising specialty companies like Ant Hill Trading and Bravado International Group, which provide promotional items for music tours and large corporate events. Inola Casting Works has produced lapel pins, key chains, medallions, bracelets, necklaces, rings, belt buckles, and more for big-name acts like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Guns & Roses; Hank Williams; Led Zeppelin; the Sex Pistols; the Spice Girls; and Sting.

Baseball and softball team trading pins represent one of the company's largest product lines, with more than 20,000 traded across the country this year. "Our customers tell us that our pins are some of the most sought-after trades," Freeman says.

New Technologies Enable Product Line Expansion
Recently, its customer Bravado International opened a new division, which offers products to high end, hip retail outlets. Inola Casting Works' belt buckles are now found across the United States in Hot Topic, which specializes in band paraphernalia and caters to the skateboard youth culture.

In 1996, Freeman says, the company made several technology upgrades, including the purchase of laser engravers that automated many of its processes and allows it to do all crafting work in-house, with the exception of gold or nickel plating.

Inola Casting Works also added a full-time graphic artist to its staff--a move that enables the company to turnaround art samples within three to five business days and has turned one-item orders into requests for more. For example, she says, when HIM, an alternative rock band out of Finland, requested a key chain with its logo on it for an upcoming tour, the company sent them six samples of different concepts. Ultimately, the band selected four pieces of Inola Casting Works' craftsmanship.

For future enhancements, the company plans to revamp its website and launch an e-commerce initiative, which will give current and prospective customers one more access point. Yet beginning with her father's "marketing strategy" of simply picking up the phone and contacting large concession and advertising specialty companies, Inola Casting Works' success relies on reputation and involvement.

"Most of our new business comes from referrals," Freeman says. "We're an honest company that stands behind our work. If we say it's going to ship, it ships. If we make a mistake, we fix it at no hassle or charge to the customer."

Community Involvement and Business Development Go Hand in Hand
Combined with the company's ongoing efforts to work with schools and organizations in making customized items that they can sell and raise funds, Freeman says she's always out in the community making contacts and building that list of referrals. An active member of both the Claremore and Inola chambers of commerce, Freeman also currently serves as an assistant for Leadership Rogers County, a program that brings together citizens of Rogers County to learn about their community.

"If I meet 25 people a month, then there's 25 people who know what I do and who become familiar with Inola Casting Works," she says. "But it's more than making contacts. In terms of our work with schools and various non-profit organizations, I truly enjoy helping people determine the type of product that's right for them and that they can easily use to raise funds."

Since its first community-outreach effort during Operation Desert Storm, Inola Casting Works has had many opportunities to give something back, making an impact that often rivals the contributions of Fortune 500 companies.

• In 1993 when a tornado ripped through Catoosa, the company raised $10,000 for disaster relief.
• A "Healing in the Heartland" pin raised $150,000 after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
• For the September 11th Fund in New York City, Inola Casting Works raised more than $400,000, with a portion of that going to aide Oklahoma organizations active in disaster relief.
• And, in 2003, the company's "Support Our Troops" pin raised $110,000 for the United Service Organization (USO), which President Edward Powell praised as one of the "top-level donations."

When the USO hosted its annual gala in Washington, D.C., Freeman was among the guests.

"Powell only mentioned three donor companies in his keynote address, and Inola Casting Works was one of them," she says. "It was an incredible feeling knowing that my father's vision for his company will be realized whenever our community is in need."

To contact Inola Casting Works: Stephani Freeman, 918-543-3153, stephani@inolacastings.com; or Barbara Koenig, 918-543-3157, barbara@inolacastings.com.