PepWear Powers WGI Merchandise
Jun 18, 2009
By Michael Boo
Gary and Sharon Hansen are now fixtures at the WGI World Championships, as well as other WGI shows throughout the country. For three years, they have followed the WGI circuit from beginning to end with their two dogs, attending both winter guard and indoor marching percussion events.
The Hansens work for PepWear, the Midlothian, Texas-based third -year sponsor of WGI and the exclusive supplier of official WGI merchandise. They’ve been on the road since the middle of February and during that time, have been home for only one week.
This year, they started their WGI tour in Houston. Then, they continued on to Dallas, Austin, the Phoenix area, the San Diego area, Union City, CA for the guard and percussion weekends and finally to Dayton for the winter guard and indoor marching percussion World Championships. Another couple, Wes and Vi Brown, did the east coast tour for PepWear this year.
Fans know PepWear for the massive selection of official WGI merchandise offered at their booth. The company’s slogan is “WGI, powered by PepWear,” and it would be hard to argue that claim. The company does a brisk business offering WGI t-shirts, sweats, caps, figurines and a multitude of other souvenirs.
PepWear is a privately-owned, student-focused company that supplies Gary and Sharon with an RV for the WGI tour. The custom made vehicle barely looks like an RV, appearing more like a Penske moving truck. Dakota and Bailee, the couple’s two laid-back, longhaired dachshunds, can be seen lounging on the front seat when not outside the vehicle making friends with members of the winter guards and percussion lines. The dogs are great additions to the PepWear sales force; many people come over to pet the dogs and end up buying merchandise.
PepWear can customize shirts and jackets with on-the-spot designs, heat transferred onto the fabric. Their WGI event shirts and blue track jackets are the top sellers. Plus, the WGI beanies are also quite popular. At the 2009 Color Guard World Championships, the company sold out of all their shirts and had to take orders, despite coming to Dayton with more shirts than were sold the prior year, stored in the huge trailer that they tow behind their RV. Along the way to Dayton, they had new orders shipped to them each week to keep stocked for the weekend’s shows.
Neither Gary nor Sharon knew about WGI before getting involved with PepWear, and in fact didn’t know about the company until spotting an ad in “Work Camper News” in 2006.
Sharon spends a few weeks each year working the embroidery machines in PepWear’s plant. Gary cuts metal for commemorative plaques that are sold at various musical events.
The couple loves the travel because they are full-time RV aficionados who don’t own a stationary house. When they’re done with the WGI winter-spring season and before starting the two-month Bands of America tour in the fall, they’ll live in their own RV in a state park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Sharon proclaims, “We enjoy being with the children and parents at the WGI shows. It puts a smile on our faces. It’s nice to see so many familiar people for much of the season. When we take our meal breaks, we normally go inside and watch the shows.”
Gary adds that those who come to the WGI shows, as participants or fans, are extremely polite. “Sometimes the lines in our area can get long. People might be in Sharon’s line to buy merchandise and then they come to my line for the custom clothing transfers. We never hear any complaining from anyone about the wait.”
Gary and Sharon have a lot of help on the road from Event Manager Jill Owens and band parents and students who work the PepWear booth. These helpers staff the booth to raise money for their band and/or guard accounts or programs. Sharon admits they couldn’t pull off the booth without their help and they thank every one of them for their support.
Next time you’re at a major WGI or BOA event, look for the PepWear booth and say hello to Gary, Sharon, Dakota and Bailee. While you’re there you’ll be sure to find something that you can’t live without.
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