Wake Forest University's Family Business Center and Business North Carolina extending deadline for N.C. Family Business Awards applications
The Wake Forest University Family Business Center and Business North Carolina magazine are offering people a chance to nominate a family business deserving of special recognition. In the spirit of entrepreneurship, self-nominations are encouraged!
Nominations and applications for the 2009-10 North Carolina Family Business of the Year awards are being accepted through our website.
The awards, in their second year, recognize the many companies in North Carolina that successfully combine business with family. Awards will be given in up to four categories: Small, Medium, and Large (based on number of employees), as well as a special Century Award category for family businesses that are at least 100 years old. The application deadline has been extended to Dec. 15.
Finalists and winners will be notified in February, and the awards will be presented in May in Charlotte.
More than 135 people attended the inaugural ceremony June 3 at the Graylyn Conference Center, including Wake Forest Dean of Business Steve Reinemund, the keynote speaker, and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines, who provided opening remarks. More than 100 companies were nominated for the awards, and faculty members from the Schools of Business served on the panel of judges.
The winners were: Small Category, Young Transportation of Asheville; Medium Category, von Drehle Corp. of Hickory; Large Category, Autobell Car Wash, Charlotte. The winner of the Century Award was Moose Pharmacy of Mount Pleasant.
Kathy Baker, director of the Wake Forest Family Business Center, was extremely pleased with how the business community responded to the inaugural event, and she is excited about growing the tradition for the premiere family business recognition event in North Carolina.
“I was overwhelmed by the success of our first awards dinner, and I am even more excited about the prospects for next year’s event. I am confident that family businesses across the state will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity,” she said.
“The awards program provides an opportunity to recognize our winning companies for their achievements in combining the best of family and business. But it also offers the opportunity to share a bigger story, which is about how family businesses have learned to maintain their values while creating value for their stakeholders, as well as making those core values an integral aspect of their operating practices.”
The Family Business Center, established in 1999 under the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship in the Wake Forest University Schools of Business, addresses issues faced by closely held and family firms. The member-based organization uses the capabilities and educational resources at Wake Forest, in the community and beyond to provide closely held and family firms the assistance they need to grow and succeed from generation to generation.
