Winners Announced in Baylor's Family Business Contest
by Alan Hunt
WACO, Texas - Family businesses, both large and small, across Texas are among the winners in the eighth annual Outstanding Family Business Awards competition sponsored by Baylor University's Institute for Family Business.
The award-winning businesses include family owned restaurants and firms in Central Texas, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Beaumont and Stafford.
Winner in the small business category, with 50 or fewer employees, is Five Star Food Services, Inc., Stafford; the medium-sized category award (51-250 employees) goes to Alford Media Services, Inc., Dallas; and the large firm category award (more than 250 employees) will be presented to Casa Ole, Beaumont.
Other winners include: Community Commitment Award, Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Food Restaurant, Fort Worth; Family Values Award, Lammes Candies, Austin; Fastest Growing Award, Transportation Unlimited, Dallas; and the Well-Managed Award, Pulliam Pool Builders, Inc., Fort Worth. The Founders Award, for the business that has adapted to future markets while maintaining the original concepts of the founders, goes to Elliott's Hardware, Dallas.
Finalists include: Bealls Furniture and Appliance Company, Hemphill; Brook Mays Music, Dallas; The Johnson Group, Waco; Lake Sound, Inc., Keller; The Made-Right Co., Longview; Texas Nameplate Company, Inc., Dallas; US Contractors, Inc., Deer Park; and Wright Brand Foods, Vernon.
Semi-finalists include: Executive Secretarial School, Dallas; Grant Sales, Inc., Plano; Lake Dallas Boat Co., Inc./Lakeview Marina, Lake Dallas; Philpott Motors, Port Neches; Sahana Enterprises, Inc., Plano; and Wilkirson-Hatch Funeral Home, Inc., Waco.
"Many members of the public nominate firms for the contest each year," said Doris Sandberg, program director of the Institute for Family Business. "Some have been loyal customers of these businesses for decades."
Sandberg said more than 200 family businesses were nominated for this year's contest. The six judges for the contest included family business consultants and advisors and principals of successful family firms in Texas.
The awards will be presented Thursday, Oct. 23, at a banquet in Austin. Entertainment will be provided by Baylor Showtime!. For more information, contact Sandberg at (254) 710-2265 extension 5