LAWTON – Scott Henderson’s flat feet kept him out of the military so he found another way to serve his country.
Henderson, owner of FROG Printing and Awards Center in Lawton, manufactures awards, challenge coins, banners, rugs, framed art and flags for soldiers at Fort Sill.
“It’s my way of serving the military,” he said. “I’m flat-footed as a duck. They wouldn’t have let me in. I don’t know one unit we don’t work for. I love the work. It encourages others to strengthen and edify others.”
At the time of this interview, Henderson and his staff were working on 11 awards for a field artillery unit which just returned from South Korea. About “96 to 98 percent” of the company’s business comes from Fort Sill, Henderson said. FROG also does work for the community, including the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce, public schools and Little League teams.
Henderson said he’s excited that the awards his firm manufactures inspires many other people.
“It thrills the person getting the award and it thrills the person giving the award,” he said. “It goes full circle.”
Henderson spent 30 years selling insurance in Arkansas before coming to Lawton where his dad operated T&S Printing for 40 years. Henderson said he’s proud his dad, an Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, served Fort Sill and the Lawton community. Henderson’s dad received 13 Purple Hearts while serving four tours in Vietnam.
T&S Printing, which was under the control of one of his brothers, was having business trouble when Henderson returned to Lawton, so the insurance agent bought the firm’s assets from the bank and started under a new name. FROG, he said, stands for Forever Relying On God, which is his personal and business motto.
“It’s my way of continuing my father’s legacy,” Henderson said. “It (business) is getting better each year.”
The fun part of the business is knowing his work will “live on long after we’re dead and gone.” Henderson, 56, said he’s unsure if or when he’ll retire.
“It’s like now that I have the knowledge of why my dad did it so long, we’ll continue with it. When God has equipped you to do something, only He can tell you when you’re done.”
It doesn’t hurt that the business is doing so well, either.
“We probably have 60 to 70 jobs to do at this time and we usually we about 140 jobs a month,” Henderson said. “Plus, by operating this we honor the military, my dad and the city of Lawton. We also use this place to minister to soldiers and most are very receptive.”
FROG Awards is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The company is located at 1005 SW F Avenue, and the telephone number is (580) 678-1114.
For more information, visit www.frogprintingandawardcenter.com.