MASSENA – Tony O’Geen can tell you the story of the Special Ops soldier just back from Afghanistan who showed up at his shop one day to have a custom rifle sling made.

He’ll also tell you about the Florida lacrosse coach who called to have his team outfitted with bags after he saw a player from another school with one of O’Geen’s creations.

For O’Geen, each customer is as individual as the job they ask him to complete.

The Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton says that paying that kind of attention to each customer is part of what led to Tony’s Canvas and Leather to be named Manufacturer of the Year by the New York State Small Business Development Center last spring. The award is part of the NYSSBDC’s annual recognition program designed to highlight the achievements of entrepreneurs all over the state. O’Geen was nominated for the award by the SUNY Canton SBDC.

Tony’s Canvas & Leather started from O’Geen’s home in Massena in 2001. With his son involved in local high school hockey, he realized there was a real demand for sports equipment repair and no one in the North Country was offering the service. He began posting flyers in the local hockey arenas and sports facilities offering repair service and custom designs. O’Geen’s efforts paid off and he quickly expanded his offerings to manufacturing and repair of all variety of sports bags and equipment.

The most recent addition to O’Geen’s offerings is the ability to create vinyl and canvas signs of all shapes and sizes complete with high quality logos and photo images.

The company also has a successful web presence.

For more information on Tony’s Canvas and Leather visit http://www.tonyscanvas.com/.