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Awards put your company center stage.

It’s a family affair.
Awards put your company center stage. Nominations sought for 2011 Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award sponsored by Northeastern University Center for Family Business

Every company wants to claim that they are an “award winning business”.

And for good reason. Awards are third-party affirmation that your firm is “better” than others. Distinct. Extraordinary. “THE” top of mind choice to do business with.

With that in mind, we encourage you to nominate your company or another for 5th Annual Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award. Or alert PR Works and we will help with the nomination process.

PR Works is helping Northeastern University Center for Family Business with the publicity for this year’s awards. Applications are due by May 6, 2011. The awards dinner to celebrate and announce the recipients is scheduled for June 8 and will be held at the Henderson House, Weston, MA.

Nominations are welcome directly from family businesses as well as the business community at large.

Last year Piantedosi Baking Company, Malden MA won the Karofsky Award for companies with over 100 employees, Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort, Foxboro, MA won the Molloy Award for 25 – 100 employees, and Ruma’s Fruit & Gift Basket World, Everett, MA won the Paisner Award for companies with less than 25 employees.

A panel of independent judges will evaluate and select the winners based on business success, positive business and family linkages, multi-generational family involvement, contributions to the community and industry, and innovative business practices or strategies. Judges include a Northeastern University faculty member, a Family Firm Institute advisor and a former winner of the award.

The award presents a unique opportunity for family businesses to obtain significant regional press exposure, an opportunity to reflect on their own successes and challenges through the years and a chance to recognize the valuable contribution of their employees, suppliers and stakeholders.

The award categories are based on the number of full-time employees. All Massachusetts-based family-owned, businesses that include, or have included, more than one generation are eligible.

“Family businesses are the backbone of our economy,” stated Ted Clark, director of the Northeastern University Center for Family Business. Clark continued, “Family businesses provide sixty percent of employment in the U.S. and seventy-eight percent of all new jobs. Our awards celebrate and recognize the best in family business and what they contribute to the community.”

Past Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award winners include: SALMON Health and Retirement, Elaine Construction, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, New England Coffee, The Lupoli Companies, Avedis Zildjian Co., Camp Thoreau, and Crescent Ridge Dairy.

The Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Awards program was originally created in a partnership between Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business and The Family Firm Institute New England Chapter to promote and highlight some of the great achievements of Massachusetts-based, family-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

For a nomination form, please visit www. http://cba.neu.edu and click on “Awards Program”. Or contact Katelyn Husereau, Northeastern University, Center for Family Business, k.husereau@neu.edu, 617.373.3718.

Awards put your company center stage.Read More

Family Reunion. Nominations sought for 2011 Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award

Northeastern University Center for Family Business announces a call for nominations for their 5th Annual Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award. Applications are due by May 6, 2011. The awards dinner to celebrate and announce the recipients is scheduled for June 8 and will be held at the Henderson House, Weston, MA.

Nominations are welcome directly from family businesses as well as the business community at large.

Last year Piantedosi Baking Company, Malden MA won the Karofsky Award for companies with over 100 employees, Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort, Foxboro, MA won the Molloy Award for 25 – 100 employees, and Ruma’s Fruit & Gift Basket World, Everett, MA won the Paisner Award for companies with less than 25 employees.

A panel of independent judges will evaluate and select the winners based on business success, positive business and family linkages, multi-generational family involvement, contributions to the community and industry, and innovative business practices or strategies. Judges include a Northeastern University faculty member, a Family Firm Institute advisor and a former winner of the award.

The award presents a unique opportunity for family businesses to obtain significant regional press exposure, an opportunity to reflect on their own successes and challenges through the years and a chance to recognize the valuable contribution of their employees, suppliers and stakeholders.

The award categories are based on the number of full-time employees. All Massachusetts-based family-owned, businesses that include, or have included, more than one generation are eligible.

“Family businesses are the backbone of our economy,” stated Ted Clark, director of the Northeastern University Center for Family Business. Clark continued, “Family businesses provide sixty percent of employment in the U.S. and seventy-eight percent of all new jobs. Our awards celebrate and recognize the best in family business and what they contribute to the community.”

Past Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Award winners include: SALMON Health and Retirement, Elaine Construction, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, New England Coffee, The Lupoli Companies, Avedis Zildjian Co., Camp Thoreau, and Crescent Ridge Dairy.

The Massachusetts Family Business of the Year Awards program was originally created in a partnership between Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business and The Family Firm Institute New England Chapter to promote and highlight some of the great achievements of Massachusetts-based, family-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

About Northeastern University’s College of Business Center for Family Business Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business is a membership organization that provides education, networking opportunities, and support to business families. The Center helps its members identify and avoid potential pitfalls, solve complex interpersonal and family business issues, and plan for future family business success in an increasingly more competitive environment.

About Northeastern University College of Business Administration The College’s BS in International Business is ranked 13th in the nation for international business programs by U.S. News & World Report. Bloomberg Businessweek ranks the undergraduate business program # 1 for internships and 32nd in the country.

For a nomination form, please visit www. http://cba.neu.edu and click on “Awards Program”. Or contact Katelyn Husereau, Northeastern University, Center for Family Business, k.husereau@neu.edu, 617.373.3718.

Family Reunion. Nominations sought for 2011 Massachusetts Family Business of the Year AwardRead More

Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, P.C. has a long history of success in advising family businesses.

Edward Tarlow

The Boston-based law firm of Tarlow, Breed, Hart, & Rodgers, P.C. (TBHR) has long embraced family businesses as an integral part of its practice. To that end, TBHR has been an active member and supporter of several family business-based organizations, including the Family Firm Institute’s New England Chapter, and also the Family Business Association, Inc., an organization established to recognize excellence in Massachusetts family businesses. 

One of the cornerstones of TBHR’s business is counseling family businesses in the day-to-day running of their organization, and also in the critical and often sensitive area of business succession and estate planning.

Said Edward D. Tarlow, Esq., a Founding Member of TBHR, “Business is all about trends. For the longest time, corporate America was seen as the Goliath, with small family businesses being the perennial Davids. Now, with all the bailouts and difficulties on Wall Street, family businesses have shown resilience that you don’t see in corporate America.” He added, “Mass Truck Body and Trailer, Inc. of Chelsea is one of our family business clients that truly embodies that resilience – in fact, they’ve just recently celebrated their 50th anniversary.  It is family businesses such as Mass Truck that will help lay the groundwork for an economic recovery, and their histories are an important part of their current success.”

When Anthony DiRocco and his partners started Mass Truck in a rented tin garage in Everett, the building had dirt floors and no plumbing. To keep warm, they had a fire burning in a barrel, just like you would see in an old 1930’s movie. In 1964, the company moved to its current location at 60 Arlington Street in Chelsea.

In the 1970s, Mass Truck expanded, opening Trailer Equipment, Inc. in the building next door. When, Anthony DiRocco and his original partners parted ways, DiRocco brought his eldest son, John, into the business. Shortly after John joined the Mass Truck, his brother, Mike, started at Trailer Equipment, and their hard work continued this winning combination.

With the sudden passing of Anthony DiRocco in 1987, John DiRocco faced a similar dilemma as his father had faced years earlier:  continue the family business, take on new partners, or close up shop. Even though the sacrifices would be many, he opted to continue his father’s legacy of providing affordable truck body and trailer repair, and superior customer service with satisfaction guaranteed. It’s a decision John says he’s never regretted.

Today, with its 12 bays and staff of highly trained, certified truck body service technicians, Mass Truck Body & Trailer, Inc. remains a fixture in the truck parts and repair business, taking a backseat to no other repair shop when it comes to price, quality, or workmanship – something of which Anthony DiRocco would be most proud – as well as for his sons’ sacrifice and hard work.

“The story of family businesses, such as the DiRocco’s and Mass Truck Body & Trailer, is one of the reasons our firm has made advising families and family businesses such a large part of our business law practice. There are not only succession issues to be considered, but also estate planning, taxes, and a host of related corporate issues, as well. We provide the kind of counsel in these areas which can help the family and the business transition smoothly to the next generation, whether that means continuing the business, selling it, or even expanding,” said Tarlow.

About Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C.:

Formed in 1991, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. is committed to providing high quality, comprehensive legal services to its clients.  Featuring a breadth and depth of experience and perspective usually found only at larger law firms, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers. P.C. offers sophisticated legal counsel to entrepreneurs, businesses, individuals, families, and institutions.

Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers’ areas of expertise include corporate law and business transactions, litigation and dispute resolution, estate planning, taxation, real estate, municipal law, and hospitality law.

The offices of Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. are located at 101 Huntington Avenue, Prudential Center, in Boston, MA 02199. For additional information, or to arrange for a consultation, please call 1-617-218-2000, e-mail info@tbhr-law.com, or visit www.tbhr-law.com.

Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, P.C. has a long history of success in advising family businesses.Read More