Family Business in America!
‘Karen and Jay in Manchester, paying tribute to New Hampshire’s ‘Business Leader of the Decade,’ Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder of CCA Global Partners’
This week we celebrate the family business in America – businesses built by hard working families that are the engines of our economy and the lifeblood of our communities. Where generations of Americans can pursue their dreams and enjoy the fruits of entrepreneurial success.
We in New Hampshire are particularly fortunate. Not only are we nationally recognized as leaders in our support for small and family owned business, but we are also the home of CCA Global Partners, whose core mission is to support family business. Starting with one carpet store in Manchester, NH, CCA Global is now a $12 Billion enterprise, whose founder Howard Brodsky has just been named ‘NH Business Leader of the Decade'.
Since the founding of America, family owned businesses have been an essential cornerstone of our communities, big and small. Statistically, family owned businesses account for an estimated 78 percent of job creation annually and employ more than half of the workforce. More importantly though, family businesses help unify generations through a commitment to shared values, responsibilities, and prosperity. Through the goods and services they provide, small businesses demonstrate an unparalleled commitment to their communities. The family business, in short, is a powerful facilitator of the American dream.
As the founder of a family business, the ability to work alongside those that I love the most has been an incredible experience. The most important part is that it’s made me grateful for the journey we’re taking together, building something for the future, not only for ourselves, but for others. While not always the easiest, as there are indeed tough moments, at the end of the day we’re able to come together to find solutions and keep moving forward. The ability to work together has undoubtedly made us cherish each other’s unique abilities, bringing us all closer as a family.
LaValley Building Supply - Family Business in the Sunshine Town
A great example of a successful family owned business in Newport is LaValley Building Supply. In 1962, Harold and his wife Geraldine founded LaValley Building Supply in Newport where they made roof trusses, kitchen countertops and established a custom planing mill – all still in operation to this day. Over the years, their business rapidly has grown rapidly, and they now have a dozen locations throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. Spanning all the way from New Hampshire’s Seacoast to the New York border. In fact, they are now the third largest buyer of building supplies in the United States!
Longtime leaders and contributors to the community, the LaValley family and business have consistently given back in numerous ways by supporting the arts, theatre, and athletics. And, in true family business tradition, LaValley’s is a full family effort, with son-in-law Larry Huot serving as President and his son Bryan Huot leading their modular homes division at Preferred Building Supply in nearby Claremont. Another family member, John Hooper runs the LaValley Building Supply store in Walpole in addition to serving on Newport’s Board of Selectman and owning a business of his own, Pinnacle Sports. Hats off to a true family and business success story – hugely deserved!
Beaver Pond Farm – Family Business – Nine Generations!
Located on the outskirts of Newport, Beaver Pond Farm is a case study in family business tradition and longevity. Get this - It’s a successful 9th generation family business!
The farm is located on 265 acres of forested and maple-orchard land and about 20 acres in tillable land where vegetables, apples and berries are produced. The farm was originally built in 1780, by the William Osgood family who had just emigrated from England. To this day, the seventh, eighth, and ninth generations still work the soil at Beaver Pond Farm. Today, the Newport farm is a highly diverse fruit and vegetable operation owned by eighth generation farmers Becky (McDonough) and Ben Nelson. Their son Sam (ninth generation) works at the farm part-time while working full-time at the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center in Newport as the Forestry and Natural Resources instructor. Their daughter Kathryn works in the education field as well in southern New Hampshire. In addition to the farm, the family also runs a popular farm stand along the John Stark Highway in Newport, a common meeting point between Newport and Claremont.
Last year, Beaver Pond Farm was awarded a land conservation grant. Starting in 2018, the family started a community fundraising effort that allowed them to secure a matching gift of funds from state sources and foundations. This impressive effort will conserve three parcels of land and protect the farm forever!
Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/beaverpondfarmnh/
Positive Profile of the Week: Bob Bahre- Racing Pioneer and Family Man
Recently, the New Hampshire community lost a man who was a pioneer in the world of motorsport, a leader and a visionary. That man was Bob Bahre.
Bob Bahre was truly a self-made man. He was a welder who later became a developer, building homes. His property development business flourished, allowing him to invest in his passion for automobiles, buying Maine’s Oxford Speedway in the 1960’s. This raceway not only paved the way for him to build what we now know as New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but the track’s marquee race in Oxford, Maine featured leading race car drivers like Ricky Craven and Kevin Harvick. Bob would go on to sell Oxford Speedway and together with his son Gary and brother Richard, they would build the Magic Mile in Loudon, New Hampshire and bring NASCAR’s premier racing division to New England, a feat no one thought was possible.
People might think Gillette Stadium, home to our beloved New England Patriots is the largest sporting venue in New England. However, in fact, it’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire which can hold over 100,000 people. When NASCAR comes to New Hampshire, the town of Loudon temporarily becomes the largest community in the state. What the Track does for the economy and for the region wouldn't be possible without Bob Bahre and his family.
To successfully execute building a NASCAR track is a massive undertaking and its success in New Hampshire was the result of this family-oriented business. Not just his immediate family but the families that worked at the track and the families in the community Bob worked with. Even as the track grew to what we know it as today, prior to selling the speedway in 2008, Bob would send 10,000 hand signed cards year after year thanking families of the Speedway. When something needed to be done, he rallied the racing family together to see that it got done. He was a pioneer on so many fronts, a true man of the people, who so many could rely on and families could look up to.
Through his vision that championed working with families, Bob became a household name in New England and an icon in the motor sports community. As someone involved in family business myself as so many granite families are, I know that together with passion, commitment, and positivity, you can build a vision and accomplish dreams. Bob Bahre serves as a shining and inspirational example for us all.
Quotes of the Week: The Family Business
“I grew up in a family business... that really has provided the core of my belief in American small business, and in America's ability to grow and operate important businesses that can compete and be successful.” - Karen Mills, former Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
"If you're going to run a small business, you need to know what everyone is doing, be the first one in and the last one out, and work weekends.” - Glen Mazzara
“In America, a small business is a big deal.” - Bob Beauprez
“There is no greater country on Earth for entrepreneurship than America. In every category, from the high-tech world of Silicon Valley, where I live, to University R&D labs, to countless Main Street small business owners, Americans are taking risks, embracing new ideas and - most importantly - creating jobs.” - Eric Ries
“The government's Small Business Administration reports that small businesses represent 99% of all employers in the U.S. and are responsible for generating well over half of the new jobs created.” - Ellen Tauscher