The University of Connecticut Family Business Program proudly announces honorees for the 2010 Connecticut Family Business of the Year Awards!  Please join the UConn Family Business Program in celebrating its 15-year Anniversary and celebrating the successes of the nine family businesses to be inducted as “Connecticut Family Business of the Year” Honorees.  For 15 years, the University of Connecticut Family Business Program has been honoring family firms that have bettered our communities and our prospects for jobs, security, and wellbeing.  Through the annual Connecticut Family Business of the Year Awards ceremony, 143 outstanding firms from across the state have been honored – firms committed to creating jobs, investing in new technologies, supporting philanthropic causes, fostering innovation, and serving as champions of their industry and community.   As family businesses continue to prove themselves as the backbone of Connecticut’s economy, and the central nervous system of American free enterprise – let’s celebrate in their achievements, embrace best practices, and ensure that the spirit of family values thrives!  Honorees are chosen by a panel of judges from a pool of state-wide nominees and are evaluated based on business success, positive family and business linkage, multigenerational family involvement, dynamic contributions to community and industry, and innovative business practices or strategies. This year's honorees are :

• Allan S. Goodman, Inc.; East Hartford
• Bill’s Bedding & Furniture; Danielson
• By Carrier, Inc.; Plainville
• McCue Mortgage Company; New Britain
• Miller Foods, Inc.; Avon
• NAGI Jewelers; Stamford
• Parker Medical, Inc.; Bridgewater
• Pita Communications, LLC; Rocky Hill
• Specialty Printing, LLC; East Windsor

The University of Connecticut Family Business Program is also honored to welcome Mr. Jim Ethier, 3rd generation family owner and Chairman of Bush Brothers & Co., to UConn as keynote presenter for the 2010 Connecticut Family Business of the Year Awards ceremony.  With a rich family history spanning over a century, Bush Brothers has remained family-owned and privately-held – driven to succeed over 4 generations by relying on their tenacity, vision, ingenuity, adherence to core values, and commitment to community and country.

What started as a modest tomato canning business at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in 1908, Founder A.J. Bush held tightly to a vision of keeping his family together and gainfully employed whilst increasing the prosperity of the country he loved so deeply.  Yet it would be 60 years after the company’s founding when it’s signature product – baked beans – would be introduced and occupy space in grocery stores, pantries, plates, and television screens across the United States. 

Climbing to the number 3 position in the baked bean markets in the mid-1980’s, Bush Brothers was focused on becoming the brand leader in baked beans and other baked bean items.  To undergird this aggressive campaign, the company elected a new Board of Directors in 1991 – the first to include non-family directors. The Board found the right person to lead the company’s re-invention, and they found who they needed in Mr. Jim Ethier, A.J. Bush’s grandson, whom they elected President and COO in 1992.  Under Mr. Ethier’s oversight, the company developed its first formal Strategic Plan. Realizing that the baked bean market category was “under-marketed”, the company went through an unprecedented marketing and product development campaign - moving the company’s corporate offices to Knoxville Tennessee, designing new labels, expanding to other US markets previously left untapped, embarking on a new national slogan, launching nationwide television ads, and developing over a dozen new products.  Jay Bush, Mr. Ethier’s younger cousin and 4th generation Bush family member, and Jay’s dog Duke, became staples in the company’s national advertising campaigns, and the company even founded a “Family Senate” which meets quarterly to discuss family opportunities and other related issues.  Mr. Ethier’s efforts tripled the company’s market share in the baked beans category by the mid-90’s and allowed Bush Brothers to record double-digit increases in sales on an annual basis.  By 2001, the company controlled 50% of the entire baked beans market. 

Celebration Information:
The 2010 Connecticut Family Business of the Year Awards Celebration will be held at the University of Connecticut's Lewis B. Rome Ballroom on the Storrs campus with a reception beginning at 5 p.m.  Celebration will include a hosted bar and heavy food reception including assorted quiches, brie and raspberry phyllo, dijon chicken puff pastry, mushroom caps, sirloin carving station, assorted cheeses, vegetables and fruit, and chef’s choice of assorted desserts and coffee.  Professional photographers will be on-hand take honoree photos throughout the event.  Business attire is recommended.  Seating is not assigned.  Estimated end time is 8:00 p.m.  Note: Toy donations will be collected to benefit Toys for Tots.

Registration:
Registration is $50 per person (made payable to the University of Connecticut).  To RSVP, please send guest list and payment to University of Connecticut Family Business Program; 2100 Hillside Road, Unit 1041; Storrs, CT  06269-1041. All registrations must be received by Wednesday, November 24th. 

Overnight Accommodations:
Overnight accommodations may be made through the Nathan Hale Inn, UConn’s on-campus hotel located steps away from the South Campus Rome Ballroom.  Call 860-427-7888 for reservations.

Advertising Options:
Companies looking to recognize honorees through the Program’s commemorative magazine may contact Jill Siegel (jsiegel@hartfordbusiness.com) at the Hartford Business Journal.

About the University of Connecticut Family Business Program:
Drawing from the academic backbone of the nationally ranked University of Connecticut's School of Business, the mission of the UConn Family Business Program is to enhance the success of businesses, families and individuals by providing exceptional resources and opportunities for collaboration. Our goal is to help family businesses develop strategies and policies that will serve to perpetuate family ownership while helping them make significant advances in functions related to business strategy, increased complexity,  organizational structure, management practices and succession planning.