The Society for Industrial Archeology is calling for nominations for its annual General Tools Award for Distinguished Service to Industrial Archeology. The General Tools Award is the highest honor the SIA can bestow. The award recognizes individuals who have given sustained, distinguished service to the cause of industrial archeology and is presented at the SIA’s annual business meeting.

Criteria for selection are as follows: (1) The recipient must have given noteworthy, beyond-the-call-of-duty service, over an extended period of time, to the cause of industrial archeology. (2) The type of service for which the recipient is recognized is unspecified, but must be for other than academic publication. (3) It is desirable but not required that the recipient be, or previously have been, a member of the SIA. (4) The award may be made only to living individuals. Teams, groups, agencies, firms, or any other collective entities are not eligible.

The nomination, which should not exceed three doublespaced typed pages, should address the specific accomplishments that qualify the nominee for the award.

Supplementary material (the candidate’s resume, for example) may be appended to the nomination. Nominations must also include the name, address, telephone number(s), and e-mail of the nominator. Any SIA member in good standing may make a nomination.

For more information, please visit the SIA website.

General Tools is proud to have been awarded two Gold Medals and one Silver Medal in the first ever NRHA Packaging & Merchandising Awards.  General received the Gold for the Seeker 300 Video Borescope and UltraTech Power Precision Screwdriver, while also picking up a Silver for the EZ Pro Dovetail Jig.  Here's a little information on the award:

"The North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) is proud to announce the results of the first‐ever NRHA Packaging and Merchandising Awards Program. Over 115 manufacturers throughout the United States and Canada submitted their best packaging and merchandising/pointof‐ purchase display materials in hopes of receiving recognition as one of the best in the industry. To determine the winners, NRHA invited seven expert judges to contribute their experience and knowledge to the program, including home improvement retailers, wholesaler buyers, packaging design experts and a packaging production expert. After convening at NRHA’s Indianapolis headquarters last month to thoroughly review and critique each entry, judges’ scores were tallied and winners were selected.

Three special awards were presented to entries that exemplified the highest standards of packaging and merchandising excellence. The highest ranking entry in both the packaging and merchandising categories were honored with the “Whole Package” award. Additionally, the Environmental Packaging of‐the‐Year Award was given to the packaging entry that displayed the greatest advancements in “green” initiatives, such as sustainability and waste elimination.

Entries that demonstrated a superior level of packaging or merchandising excellence in the program were named Gold Award Winners. In total, 39 Gold Awards were named. Silver Award Winners were those entries that demonstrated above average packaging and merchandising efforts. Thirty‐six total Silver Awards were granted. All other entries received an Honorable Mention distinction."

This September, Professional Builder released it's annual list of the year's 100 Best New Products.  For this edition, General's new assembly of Moisture Meters got the nod. Check out the review below.  

"Branching out into home inspections? You'll need one of these. General's Moisture Meters provide an efficient method for detecting hidden leaks and excess moisture. The highly sensitive contact probes sniff out moisture in wood, concrete, plaster carpet and grain. Easy-to-use LED or LCD displays indicate both relative and percentage moisture readings. It's good for checking the moisture content of your lumber, too."

Check out the full list here.

Home improvement guru Danny Lipford has chosen the General EZ-Pro Dovetail Jig as one of the Top Picks from the 2009 National Hardware Show. 

"I’ve been a General Tools fan for a couple of decades now. It all started with a doweling jig I purchased back in 1989. I still have it, use it, love it. This year, they introduced their new EZ Pro Dovetail Jig, and it is one of the most unbelievably cool tools I’ve seen in a long time. Any woodworker will tell you that a dovetail is one of the best joints you can have, and for less than $60, you can make a PERFECT dovetail joint right out of the box. My birthday is in September…..anyone?"

You can read the full article on Danny Lipford's website.

General's Lighted Mechanical Pickup (#70396) was chosen by Popular Mechanics as one of the Top 15 New Tools of 2009.  The Editor's Choice Award was given at the 2009 National Hardware Show.  Visit the Popular Mechanics website for more details.

"Mechanical pickup tools are invaluable when you've dropped a tiny screw behind the dashboard or, say, a wedding band into the sink's garbage disposer. The LED tips on these 12-, 24- and 36-inch tools make it even easier to find the fallen part. A flexible shaft helps the grabber snake through tight spaces."