history

Since 1888, John Gray Awards has established a reputation for craftsmanship, service, and value. We have become an industry leader in designing, implementing, and fulfilling service award programs for businesses nationwide.

The John Gray Company was established in Cincinnati, OH in 1888, and originally named Dorst Jewelry. The company crafted fine jewelry, rings, sports medals, trophies and loving cups. Dorst’s products were widely recognized for their beauty, craftsmanship, quality, and value. As time passed the company’s primary customers became retail jewelers, national fraternities and sororities, and later businesses.

Through a series of succeeding owners, the Dorst Company experienced difficult times. But in 1983, ninety-five years after its founding, William and Douglas Turnbull acquired the Dorst Company. In the years that followed, the brothers turned the company around by identifying and responding to customer needs. The changes were so dramatic, that in 1995 they renamed the business The John Gray Awards Company. In 2000, John Gray Awards was relocated from the original building downtown to it's spacious location in Golf Manor.