KFA

We were talking the other night with some folks about whether or not we should call our church KFA (www.kenoshafirst.com) or just stick to the full Kenosha First Assembly. I have noticed that almost all the newer people to our church are calling it KFA right away. It's the more long-standing members who haven't switched over to the acronym.

It was also mentioned how it may be a bit of 'insider' language. Do guests understand what KFA really is when we say it in church? Are they out of the loop then?

Good questions.

Having said that, there are dozens of companies that use acronyms or initials in their names, but I wonder how well YOU know what the abbreviated letters mean?

1. CVS

When the pharmacy chain was founded in Lowell, MA in 1963, it was known as “Consumer Value Stores.” Over time the name became abbreviated to simply CVS.

2. K-MART

Longtime five-and-dime mogul Sebastian Kresge opened his first large store inGarden City, Michigan in 1962. The store was named K-Mart after him. (By the way, he opened up this brand-new venture at the tender age of 94.)

3. IKEA

The Swedish furniture giant takes its name from found Ingvar Kamprad's initials conjoined with the first initials of the farm where Kamprad grew up, Elmtaryd, and the parish he calls home, Agunnaryd.

4. JBL

The speaker company is named after its founder, James Bullough Lansing.

5. BVD

The stalwart men’s underwear maker was originally founded by a group of New Yorkers named Bradley, Voorhees and Day. Eventually the trio branched out into knitted suits for men, and their wares became so popular that 'BVDs' has become a generic term for any underwear.

6. DHL

In the late 1960s, Larry Hillblom was a broke student at the University of California law school. So to pick up a bit of extra cash, he would make courier runs from San Francisco to Los Angeles. After he finished law school, he decided the courier business was the real racket for him, so he and a couple of pals - Adrian Dalsey andRobert Lynn - began making delivery trips in a single Plymouth Duster. The company took off and they named the new business after their respective last initials - Dalsey, Hillblom & Lynn.

7. 3M

It gets its name from its roots as a company that mined stone to make grinding wheels. Since it was located in Two Harbors, MN, the company was known as Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing -- later shortened to 3M.

8. H&M

The beloved clothing store began in Sweden in 1947. Founder Erling Persson was only selling women’s clothing, so he called the store Hennes - Swedish for 'hers.' Twenty-one years later, he bought up a hunting supplier named Mauritz. After the acquisition, Persson branched out into men’s clothing and began calling the store Hennes & Mauritz, which eventually became H&M.

9. A&W ROOT BEER

Roy Allen opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, CA, in the summer of 1919 and quickly began expanding to the surrounding areas. Within a year he had partnered with Frank Wright and the pair christened their new product “A&W Root Beer."

10. GEICO

The gecko’s employer is formally known as the Government Employees Insurance Company. Although GEICO has always been a private company, its name reflects its original purpose: Leo Goodwin founded the company in 1936 to sell insurance directly to employees of the federal government.

11. P.F. Chang’s

If you go looking for Mr. P. F. Chang, you’ll be searching a good long time. The Asian dining chain’s name is a composite of the founding restaurateur Paul Fleming's initials and chef Philip Chang's last name.

12. H&R Block

Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch began their tax preparation firm in 1955 in Kansas City. Their only problem was their last name. They worried people would mispronounce it as 'blotch,' hardly a term you'd want associated with your tax return. They decided to sidestep this problem by spelling the company’s name 'Block' instead, so nobody could possibly get it wrong.

So - after all that -- I think I'm going to stick with KFA.

And be blessed.