Family Business
The 2014 Family Business Awards
By Bill Virgin November 13, 2014
This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
Staid. Stuck in their ways. Resistant to change. Insular. Family-owned companies have had those generalizations tossed at them more than once. But as the winners of this years Family Business Awards show, companies dont survive through multiple generations of family ownership by clinging to those traits. Theyve had to adjust to economic downturns and sweeping industry transformations, all the while managing the internal dynamics unique to companies whose owners, managers and employees are also family members. How they succeeded in doing so is set forth in this fifth installment of Seattle Business magazines Family Business Awards.
AWARD WINNERS
Special Recognition
Legacy Award: Smith Brothers Farms
Best Practices Award: Nelson Electric
Large Firms
Winner: Harbor Wholesale Foods
Silver Award: El Gaucho Hospitality
Midsize Firms
Winner: Burkhart Dental Supply
Silver Award: Ecolite Manufacturing Co.
Small Firms
Silver Award: Deeny Construction
2014 Family Business Awards Judges
Clarence Barnes, dean, Gonzaga University School of Business Administration
Ronald Dohr, codirector, Pacific Family Business Institute
Sue Oliver, executive director, Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center
Catherine Pratt, associate dean, Pacific Lutheran University School of Business
Martha Sandoval, counsel, Perkins Coie
Christian Schiller, managing director, Cascadia Capital
Rich Simmonds, codirector, Pacific Family Business Institute
Joseph Williams, dean, Seattle Pacific University School of Business, Government and Economics
Bart Wilson, principal, Bader Martin