In This Issue
	Featured Story Ray Allen Manufacturing Turns 60! Ray Allen In 2008 From The Mind Of Kevin Howard Ray Allen - Behind the Scenes

Ray Allen Manufacturing Turns 60!

Founded in 1948 by Ray H. Allen, our company has served the K-9 community for 60 years. We are proud of the accomplishments we have achieved and look forward to working with you all for another 60 years - at least! We'll be celebrating our anniversary all year long so be sure to keep an eye on our website and catalogs for special offers. We want to share this milestone with all of you since it is you, our loyal customers, that have made us who we are today!

Ray Allen In 2008

In the next few weeks, you should receive your new 2008 Ray Allen Catalog displaying our entire product line (especially the new stuff!). And we've added a new section to our catalog that includes customer's stories from the K-9 Pride and K-9 Memorial sections of our website. So if you want your story to possibly be included in our catalog, check out these sections of our website and submit your story. You never know when you might appear in our catalog! Throughout the year we will be offering product promotions and discounts to commemorate our 60th anniversary. Keep checking our website and our catalogs for these special offers. Since the response to our Holiday Product Newsletter was terrific (thank you!) we have decided to periodically send you a Product Newsletter. Here we will showcase new or featured products for your consideration. So in the next week or so, keep an eye out for the first of these Newsletters. Click Here For Our K-9 Pride Section »

From The Mind Of Kevin Howard

Meeting Ray! I came to know Ray Allen when I was about 10 years old - after my Dad had purchased the company. Although Ray didn't have an official position within the company anymore, he was still welcome to come by any time he wanted. I really enjoyed seeing him. In many ways he was like a third grandfather to me. It is when I started working in the shop at Ray Allen Mfg. full time that Ray and I really got close. More then a few times he and I would sneak out of town to go fishing or head out to ride horses with friends. We were out riding one time and I mentioned to Ray that I would really like to learn more about the making of saddles. You should have seen the look on his face - he was beaming. A couple weeks later Ray showed up at the shop with a new saddle tree (the rawhide covered base of a saddle) and proclaimed he was going to show me how to make a saddle. That was such a great education for me. He taught me so much. Every detail we went over is forever burned into my memory. My proudest moment was when we finished that saddle. Ray went over that thing with a fine tooth comb. Then he did something I will never forget. He reached into his bag and pulled out his saddler's stamp - and he gave it to me. For people in the saddler's trade that is "the passing of the torch". Ray was never a very emotional person but I could swear he wiped away a tear. I have had that stamp sitting on my nightstand since that very day. Anyone who knows a true cowboy knows they never say "goodbye". It was always "see you later" or something like that. Ray was no exception. To him a goodbye was a permanent thing. I used to give him a hard time about it. On December 10th 1990, Ray had been out taking pictures at what was about to be our new factory building (our current facility). He was so proud to see what his company had become - especially since the break room in the new building was actually going to be bigger then his first shop! He came by to see me and darned if he didn't say that word -"goodbye". That night at about 6:30, Ray passed away peacefully. Not a single day goes by that I don't think about him. Every morning I look at the saddle stamp he gave me and every day I carry that torch. Makes me wonder who I will pass it to in the future! Yours in Dogs, Kevin I encourage all of you to send your questions or ideas directly to me at email@rayallen.com. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you in the future.

Ray Allen - Behind the Scenes

In this section of the RAMCO News, we will give you a little insight into the people that make up the Ray Allen Mfg. family. We will present these folks to you in order of their seniority with our company. We feel it is only fitting that as we celebrate our 60th anniversary we tell you a little about the man who founded our company. His name, as it turns out, was Ray Allen. In 1912, five-year old Ray H. Allen left Stockton, Missouri in a covered wagon and moved west to Colorado with his family. Ray was a "Cowboy" from birth - ranching and the western lifestyle were always close to his heart. In 1948, he and his wife Frankie established a Saddle and Harness business in Colorado Springs, eventually developing a relationship with the Mule Division at Camp Carson (now Fort Carson) providing tack products for the U.S. Army. When the Army chose to relocate its Sentry Dog Program to Camp Carson in the early 50's, Ray was asked to assist the Mule Division by providing some basic K-9 products. Every K-9 Corps trainee was given a dollar and directions to Ray's shop to buy his leash and collar! In July of 1977, after years of hard work and moderate success in the K-9 business, Ray and Frankie prepared to retire and consequently sold the company. The rest as they say is history. Shortly after spending time in our offices on a December day in 1990, Ray died - but his legacy and inspiration live on in all that we do here.