Gig Harbor Kids, Write an Essay for Dad

Calling all doting sons and daughters!

In honor of Father’s Day on June 19, in Gig Harbor is running a promotional event designed to celebrate the best dads in town.

Through June 15, elementary-school students are invited to write an essay of 100 words or less describing why their father deserves to win a William Henry knife valued at more than $300.

“It’s very much a collector’s item,” said store manager Stacey Friant.

William Henry is located in Oregon, and Friant said, “All of their pieces are handmade and have gorgeous inlays.”

According to the company website, each knife, an integration of classic natural materials and state of the art alloys, is handmade and takes more than seven months to produce. The work of more than 30 artisans across 800 individual operations is incorporated into every piece.

“There are some really nice pieces in the collection,” she said.

Young entrants should avoid putting their personal info on the front of their essays–they will be hung in the store–and then bring them to the store at 4912 Point Fosdick Drive NW.

Ken Walker employees will choose the winning essay–and recipient of the knife, which Friant said is a pocketknife style.

“A lot of guys won’t necessarily wear a bracelet or a necklace,” she said. “But a piece like this can be passed down to the family.”

Every child that turns in an essay will get a free gold- or silver-plated money clip for his or her father. Engraving will be half-off during the promotion; to ensure it is ready by Father’s Day, Friant said that those interested should come in as soon as possible. They will honor the engraving discount on the money clips after Father’s Day, though.

So what if every child in town shows up?

“We have a ton of them in stock, so we hope that they do,” she said.

While Friant said they have yet to receive any submissions, they anticipate getting most of them at the last minute. And they are planning to publicize future giveaways through Facebook.

“Hopefully, we’ll make it a yearly thing, and we’ll see it grow from there,” she said.

Special events are nothing new at Ken Walker, which in the fall held a where packages were hid around Gig Harbor for people to find. In all, the jewelers gave away 25 items valued between $40 and $200. In December, they ran a promotion where everyone would get their purchases free on New Year’s Eve if it snowed a certain amount.

“But it was like the nicest day,” Friant said with a laugh. “So it didn’t work out.”

Friant said that they enjoy getting involved with the community.

In this case, “It’s really fun having the kids really stop and think about why it’s important and why their dads deserve things like this.

“It’s a fun way to give back a little bit and get the kids in here.”