DARD Products, Evanston, Ill., announced the passing of its chairman of the board. The company will be closed on Jan. 19, reopening on Jan. 22. The company released the following statement:
Cary J. Shevin, the chairman of the board at DARD Products, passed away on Jan. 16 at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife, Harriette; his daughter Bonni; his son-in-law, Jeff Sandy; his son, the late Phillip Shevin (predeceased); and his loving grandchildren, Evan Sandy, Brandon Sandy and Zachary Sandy.
Cary was a beloved brother to Pam Levy, and younger brother Neal Shevin. Funeral services will be performed at Chicago Jewish Funerals, Skokie Chapel at 8851 Skokie Boulevard in Skokie, Ill., and Cary will be interred at Shalom Memorial Park, 1700 West Rand Road, Arlington Heights, Ill.
DARD Products was founded by Jack Shevin in 1947. The company started out of his apartment in Chicago and did hot stamp printing in his garage.
While his father traveled and called on advertising specialty distributors, Cary printed plastic key tags in the garage on weekends. Cary would get the key tags assembled, and his mother would invite some of the neighborhood kids to come in to help assemble the key tags and had them race to see who could do them faster. Cary’s mother would supply milk and cookies to everyone that participated. After DARD outgrew the garage, his father rented a space in the back of a printing shop, where they had six employees assembling the key tags and seven doing the printing.
Cary and Harriette Shevin started attending industry trade shows, the business grew and then they moved into a much larger building in the Chicago area. DARD moved to its current location in Evanston, Ill., and has been there for 38 years.
Cary Shevin had an influential role in the Promotional Products industry for many decades. Under his leadership, DARD received numerous industry awards continuously for decades. Due to his tireless work ethic, he grew the business into a multi-million-dollar company. Cary was proud to name Bonni Shevin-Sandy as CEO and president of DARD Products. She owns 45 global patents and grew the custom side of the business by more than 50 percent.
Under Bonni’s leadership, she successfully certified DARD Products as a WBENC company, as well as helping our clients develop new business, and grow the diversity, custom, and program business.
Cary knew that as the industry changed, DARD needed to evolve in order to remain in the forefront. Cary was a pioneer in the industry, and was one of the first suppliers to start importing. He always said to most people he met, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Cary loved this industry, the people he met through the years, and he worked tirelessly for his family and employees.
Cary Shevin was a visionary, and his work ethic and dedication to DARD and his employees was unmatched. He had a great business mind, and was most of all a man of integrity. He touched many lives, and will continue to live in the hearts of his family, friends and his DARD family. He will truly be missed.
Fore more information about DARD Products, visit www.dardproducts.com.
