O.C. Tanner Company is an employee recognition company based in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. The company maintains offices in Canada, England, Singapore, Australia, and India, and is one of the largest manufacturers of retail and corporate awards in the United States. The company made the medals for the 2002, U.S.-hosted Winter Olympics.

History

O.C. Tanner was founded by Obert C. Tanner in 1927. The company started off by selling class rings and pins to high school and college graduates. In 1981, the company benefited directly from an addition in the

Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA), or Kemp–Roth Tax Cut, was an Act that introduced a major tax cut, which was designed to encourage economic growth. The Act was enacted by the 97th Congress and signed into law by U.S. President R ...

, which increased the tax deduction on employee recognition awards. These benefits were still in place as of 2018. In preparation for the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

, O.C. Tanner was commissioned by the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

to create the medals for the winning athletes in each event. OC Tanner - panoramio

In 2003, O.C. Tanner acquired the

Hansen Planetarium The Old Hansen Planetarium is a three-story building located at 15 South State Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has served many functions throughout its history. Originally built in 1904 as the Salt Lake City Public Library, the building was r ...

building. Listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979, the building was previously used as the Salt Lake city library until the 1960s, when it was renovated to become Hansen Planetarium. Following the purchase, O.C. Tanner renovated the building to serve as a new company main jewelry store. The new store opened in 2009. In 2014, O.C. Tanner announced Tanner Labs, a new research and development arm of the company. The company intended to increase software innovation in the company workforce. O.C. Tanner switched focus from a manufacturing company to a software company providing clients with recognition software for their employees. O.C. Tanner was an early innovator in the recognition software space, and is seen as a major player. Their tag line is "Help people Thrive at work". In May 2019, O.C. Tanner designed a copper spike replica of the original

Golden spike The golden spike (also known as the last spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-Carat (purity), karat gold final Rail spike, spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting t ...

ceremonially driven at the joining of the

First transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...

. This was in conjunction with the 150th anniversary celebration of the joining held at

Golden Spike National Historical Park Golden Spike National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in east-central Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The nearest city is Corinne, approximately ea ...

. Following the ceremonies, the spike was placed on display in the

Utah State Capitol The Utah State Capitol is the house of government for the U.S. state of Utah. The building houses the chambers and offices of the Utah State Legislature, the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, the State Auditor and t ...

. Obert Tanner remained actively involved with the company until his death in 1993. His daughter,

Carolyn Tanner Irish Carolyn Tanner Irish (April 14, 1940 – June 29, 2021) was an American bishop. She was the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. At the time of her election and consecration in 1996 she became the fourth woman in the Episcopal Church t ...

, remained as chairperson of the board of the company until her death in 2021.

Philanthropy

Since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, O.C. Tanner has donated gold rings to athletes and support staff for the US Olympic and Paralympic teams. O.C. Tanner annually sponsors the

O.C. Tanner Gift of Music The O.C. Tanner Gift of Music is a series of free concerts presented in Salt Lake City by the Utah Symphony and the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, with soloists, conductors and other choirs as guests. The concerts have been hosted by the Church ...

, a series of free concerts held in conjunction with the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

and the

Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...

. These concerts were initiated by Obert Tanner and Gordon B. Hinckley, future president of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, in the 1970s as a way to give back to the community. These concerts are held on

Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediate ...

in Salt Lake City and feature the

, the

, and various vocal artists over the years.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, O.C. Tanner (company) 1927 establishments in Utah Manufacturing companies of the United States