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Local Business Showcase: HC Brands

If you’re looking for a personal gift for Father’s Day, look no further than HC Brands. If you’re looking for a personal story, well, they’ve got that too. For this month’s #LocalBusinessShowcase, we sat down with Osprey alumni and father-son duo Bob (’73) and Bryan Croft (’98).

Holmes Custom (HC) Brands, originally the Holmes Stamp Company, is based in San Marco and serves as the parent company for nine niche e-commerce brands – 904 Custom, All State Notary Supplies, The Corporate Connection, Custom Signs, MyKoozie, Name Tag Wizard, Simply Stamps, Sticky Life and WallMonkeys – that all focus on item personalization for their customers.

Putting His Stamp on the Company

As a Jacksonville native, Bob graduated from Terry Parker High. He served as delivery boy for Owen Holmes at the Holmes Stamp Company while taking classes at the nearby FJC (now FSCJ). He then joined the inaugural UNF class as a junior, completing his upper-level classes in marketing.

After graduating from UNF, Holmes offered Bob a full-time position with his company as he and his wife, Eileen, settled down in Jacksonville. “We had a pretty decent lifestyle for somebody who’s making rubber stamps,” Bob joked. Twelve years later, Holmes retired and sold 70% of the company to his son, Owen Holmes Jr., with the remaining 30% to Bob. He said, “The culture is what kept [Holmes Stamp Company] going.”

“When my dad and Mr. Holmes ran the business, they had great service, word of mouth marketing and a phone book,” Bryan said.

They beat out their competitors and expanded across state lines mainly due to their quality products and service. Bob recalls days when he would take an order from a supply store first thing in the morning, then produce the stamps, and he’d have them delivered before the end of the day. He joked that the only way to make a business making stamps is “to make a lot of them.” In 1998, Holmes Jr. was set to retire, so Bob and Eileen bought out his shares and became the sole owners.

The Son Also Rises

Growing up, Bryan would help his parents out with the occasional order, but otherwise wasn’t too involved with the family business. The family’s priority for him was always to earn his degree. He was a Bishop Kenny High graduate before joining UNF Coggin as an undergrad in business admin and marketing, and he paved his way through college working at a handful of local restaurants.

After graduation, he looked to enter the workforce when Holmes Jr. announced his retirement, so Bryan joined his father at the stamp company making $8 an hour. “At the same time, I just met this beautiful blonde who’s a fancy lawyer … I gotta up my game!” Bryan said. He wanted to help the company become more profitable – which would help him justify asking for a raise – so he put his degree to good use and started exploring the “new internet thing people were talking about.” He helped usher the business into the e-commerce space and develop into the global presence it is today. In 2009, Bryan purchased the company shares from his parents looking to retire and became the owner.

Taking Care of Business

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the company, although it’s practically indistinguishable from its original model. “From physically making a stamp from hot type and lead to this … it’s really amazing,” Bob said. The one thing that has remained consistent throughout the years in the culture as they’re always looking to add new “Holmies” to the team.

Technology has been key to the growth of the business. “It took us from a small Jacksonville company with 10 employees all the way to a global company with over 100 employees, more than 10% of which are UNF Alumni,” Bryan said. As the company continues to grow, Bryan now looks to these students and young alumni to understand how to utilize this generation’s technological advances.

His goal for the company is to just be where the customers are, and his way to achieve that is by building a culture for great digital marketers. Back when he started, eBay was his go-to place to reach the consumers, then website traffic was key, and then Amazon and Etsy became the hotspots. “We might be the only rubber stamp company in the United States with a TikTok Shop,” Bryan said.

Although retired, Bob and Eileen still reside in Jacksonville and are celebrating 50 years together. Likewise, Bryan married that “beautiful blonde” Amy and they just celebrated their 24th anniversary with their three children.

Invest in the Nest: Leigh Palmer

Our latest edition of #InvestInTheNest highlights the incredible work of one of our newest team members, Leigh Palmer (’05, ’09), who rejoined the UDAE staff in March as the director of planned giving.

Palmer works with donors who are focused on leaving a legacy to the University, and that comes through gifts left in their will.

“These are folks who really believe in the mission of the organization,” Palmer said. “They really believe that their gifts can make a difference in the long term and in perpetuity.”

There are lot of good reasons to be a planned giver including potential tax benefits, but she prioritizes helping donors understand their why in giving and who and what do they want to represent with their legacy gifts. She partners with tax professionals and attorneys as part of an overall plan in creating a donor’s legacy at the University.

One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about Palmer’s line of work is that many people believe you have to be a millionaire to be a planned giver. That’s not the case.

“There are ways that you can make a gift that costs you nothing in your lifetime and then there are ways that you can give a gift that provides income for life,” Palmer said.

Palmer has enjoyed seeing the growth on campus and connecting with different generations of Osprey alumni and reliving their shared experiences. She said that under President Limayem’s leadership, the university is sure to be successful in growing UNF into a more prominent presence in the State University System.

“It’s really nice to see people feel as though our compass is still pointing in the right direction,” Palmer said. “It’s nice to see that people still believe we are on the right track.”

Early Osprey Days

Palmer lived and grew up in Jacksonville, moving from the Westside to campus as she started her journey at UNF as an undergrad. She said it felt like a whole new town and really didn’t want to live on campus, but “kids who live on campus have better grades,” is what her mom told her. As she was gently pushed out of the nest at home, Palmer soon found herself studying political science and history, carving out a path to success in undergrad. She had the opportunity to work alongside a professor during her studies for research on a book, and was noted as a contributor to the final product early on in her career.

After finishing her political science degree, she took a break and wasn’t fully sure what her next step was going to be. But two faculty members she connected with during her bachelor’s program encouraged her to pursue graduate school through the Madison-Mullis-Deming Fellowship, providing a gateway for her to continue her education. Having previously received the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, Palmer knew firsthand the impact that financial support can have on ensuring students have the resources to succeed and acquire an education. This ultimately led her to a master’s degree in public administration focused on nonprofit management.

While completing her master’s degree and working as the assistant director of development for the Episcopal School of Jacksonville (formerly Beaches Episcopal School), Palmer knew she wanted to do something bigger and more impactful. She’d previously volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House and she was working major events for fundraising, knowing how this line of work could change the lives of others. When the opportunity to apply for the assistant director of development position within UNF’s College of Arts and Sciences opened up, she quickly applied and came back to UNF prepared for further excellence.

Returning Home to the Nest

When working with major donors, many of them are in their retirement years and lean into their personal passions. She has always enjoyed working through defining those passions with donors and to “take that experience and put it into action for them and really pursue that passion for them.”

While raising money for COAS, Palmer said she met and solicited a gift from longtime UNF donor James Van Vleck, one of her first major gift donors. She developed a strong connection with Van Vleck during her tenure and embraced his circle of joy mentality in regard to giving. That mindset helped inform her ability to better serve future donors throughout the giving process.

“It brough him joy to identify a need, to support and give and to see his gift in action, ultimately wanting to repeat the ask with other needs,” Palmer said.

After working as a frontline fundraiser for UNF for over six years, Palmer left the Nest to pursue other endeavors in 2016. She worked for Amelia Island as the director of strategic initiatives before going into business with her husband to create Coastal Current Electric, LLC. Palmer used her experience and education to create a thriving business before rejoining the UDAE team in March 2024.

When she’s not helping build legacies through giving at UNF, Leigh loves to listen to audiobooks during her long commutes to and from work. She also enjoys baking sourdough bread, cycling, fishing with her husband, and playing board games with her two kids. This summer, the Palmers are looking forward to a house swap trip to Spain.

(Written by Tyler White, Published 6/30/24)

Donor Spotlight: Almeta Monroe-Turner

Our incredible UNF Foundation Board member Almeta Monroe-Turner has pledged an extraordinary gift to establish the Almeta Monroe-Turner Commencement Regalia Endowment, which will support the efforts of our No Grad Left Behind initiative!

No Grad Left Behind seeks to support graduating seniors who are most in need of assistance and who are unable to attend their commencement ceremony due to financial constraints by alleviating the costs associated with graduation.

The Almeta Monroe-Turner Commencement Regalia Endowment will help students culminate their years of hard work by uniting with their peers at the University of North Florida commencement ceremonies and join the ranks of over 100,000 UNF Osprey alumni as our newest members.

This isn’t the first time Monroe-Turner has supported our University. In 2011, she started the Almeta Monroe-Turner First Generation Scholarship to honor both her mother and her husband who were both first-generation students.

Almeta Monroe is based in Fleming Island. An entrepreneur focused on mobile technology, she is also a member of Insurance and Financial Advisors and the Executive Women’s Golf Association. She is a former member of the executive boards of Operation New Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida and Ready For Work.

Scholarship Spotlight: Mindy Herrick:

A shining example of a scholarships recipient thriving in the Nest is North Florida Ospreys Women’s Golf alumna and UNF Osprey Club Scholarship recipient Mindy Herrick (’21, ’23) who’s here to tee off our scholarship spotlights.

Originally from northeast Ohio, the Herricks converted from snowbirds to residents as they moved down to Gainesville. Mindy, following in her father’s and grandmother’s footsteps who were both golfers, picked up the clubs at age 11 when her coach noticed her natural talent. After continued lessons and competitions, she decided to pursue a collegiate scholarship, when Coach Berglund swooped her over to UNF.

By the time Herrick wrapped up her collegiate career, she finished with a bachelor’s degree from the UNF School of Communication focusing in journalism, a master’s degree from The Graduate School in educational leadership focused on athletic administration, program records for rounds under par, Top 5, Top 10 and Top 25 finishes, and an ASUN Conference Championship ring. While the individual accolades are nice, Herrick said walking off the final green with her teammates showering her with water bottles to celebrate the conference title was “the cherry on top.”

Herrick continues to fill the trophy case as both the operations manager for the Taylor Leadership Institute and the head women’s golf coach for St. Johns Country Day School. The TLI team recently received the Greatness Award for Student Success by Franklin Covey and Herrick was just named St. Johns Athletics Coach of the Month. She may be one of the youngest head coaches, but after being coached by both Coach Joanne Berglund and Dr. Matthew Ohlson, she loves using her experience to influence the next generation of golfers to achieve their goals.

Right now, she’s happy with her current regimen where she can do meaningful work with the Leadership Institute and still have time to coach her high schoolers. While you might think balancing these two roles is overwhelming, Herrick said she actually has more free time than her student-athlete days. She’s still able to spend time with her friends and has started reading more since graduation, often finding herself relaxing beachside with a book.