Outstanding Women Of Family Business

The Inaugural

Outstanding

Women

2014

D E D I C AT E D T O N E W E N G L A N D FA M I LY B U S I N E S S E S

A

s a new addition to the New England Family Business Conference, this year the Family Business Association and The Warren Group honored the exceptional women of family businesses at a special awards breakfast.

The Warren Group editorial board set out to find female family business professionals who demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment both within their businesses and in the communities they serve. Nominations poured in and each was carefully reviewed. The following 16 phenomenal women are the inaugural class of Outstanding Women.

Carol Bulman • CEO and President, Jack Conway & Co.

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Carol Bulman has run Jack Conway & Co. since late 2009, shortly before the death of its founder, her father.

Only 18 months after his passing she reported record growth, outpacing the state by 11 percent in 2013 sales.

She is credited with restoring the company’s position as a market leader. Under her guidance, the company has added five new offices and is now the largest independently family-owned real estate firm in Massachusetts, with 45 offices from the North Shore to Boston, Cape Cod and the South Coast.

Diana Cataldo • Co-owner, Cataldo Ambulance Service Inc.

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Cataldo Ambulance Service, established in 1977, is now in its second generation of ownership, serving 15 Greater Boston and North Shore communities. Diana and two siblings share management responsibilities and maintain family values in a rapidly changing health care environment. The company’s annual charity golf tournament has raised more than $150,000 to fund cancer research.

Sharon DiMinico • CEO, Learning Express

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Learning Express began in the early 1980s as one small store in Massachusetts and now has more than 130 retail franchises nationwide, selling the best educational toys and products from all over the world. Sharon DiMinico has utilized the franchise business model to enable others to create successful businesses, empowering other women managers to grow personally and professionally

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Joanne Flynn • Director of Golf, Windham Country Club

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Beginning her career at age 13, Joanne Flynn has a lifelong love of golf. She has held her current post in the family business since 1995, and has led the Windham Country Club through an $8 million construction of a new facility and has achieved an average 85 percent customer retention rate. The Windham Country Club offers a free summer golf program to members of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem (New Hampshire), and works with an inner city golf program for youth in Lowell (Massachusetts), and serves the Greater Boston area.

Cecelia Fraser • President and CEO, Fraser Engineering Co.

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Cecelia Fraser took on the leadership role from her father in 2009, in difficult economic times, at the company her grandfather had founded in 1950. Her leadership has resulted in steady revenue growth and significant projected revenue growth. She participates in a variety of philanthropic and business-related organizations, including The Fraser Burn Center at Mass. General Hospital, the Associated Industries of Mass. and the Young Presidents Organization.

Aviva Sapers President and CEO Sapers & Wallack

SPOTLIGHT WINNER

Aviva Sapers became her father’s boss and continued the reputation and level of excellence of Sapers & Wallack into the third generation.

She has led the family-owned executive and group benefits, retirement plans, wealth management and insurance company for more than 15 years. Her community affiliations include The Commonwealth Institute, the Boston Estate Planning Council, The Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, and the Presidential Advisory Council for the Berklee College of Continued on page 20 Music.

Jack Conway & Company, Inc. is proud of our CEO Carol Bulman, and her selection as an Outstanding Woman in Family Business.

From the North Shore of Boston, through the South Shore, Cape Cod and the South Coast, Jack Conway, Realtor is the largest locallybased, family-owned independent real estate company in Massachusetts.

Your Neighborhood Realtor Since 1956 w w w. j a c k c o n wa y. c o m 19

Continued from page 19

Valerie Bono • Owner, Golden Cannoli

The Inaugural

Outstanding

Women

Valerie Bono combines success with creativity, driving sales to record levels, while moving the company to a new facility in 2014. She took the business over from her father in 2007 and brought her sports and teamwork experience as a Division 1 level ice hockey player to bear in expanding the company to more than 40 employees, and its lines of business into new products. She also co-founded the Next Generation Affinity Group, in affiliation with the Family Business Association, to prepare next-generation family members for significant roles in their families’ businesses.

2014

D E D I C AT E D T O N E W E N G L A N D FA M I LY B U S I N E S S E S

Kathryn Cecere • Owner, Harmony Horse Stables Harmony Horse Stables, owned by the Cecere family for more than 25 years, has been voted best in the Metro West for Equestrian Riding School for the past six years. Kathryn Cecere instructs students in all aspects of equine care, from competition to basic care on the road. Of more than 1,200 students, many have advanced to national competition levels. Harmony Horse Stables also hosts numerous fundraisers for families in need.

Robin Emerson • Co-Proprietor, Ferns Country Store As Fern’s Country Store celebrates its 10th anniversary, Robin Emerson has been called the glue that holds it together. After a long career in advertising, in which she learned and developed many business and branding skills, she co-manages Carlisle-based Ferns Country Store and allied businesses, and makes the business an active participant in many community activities in its home base.

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Jennifer Verrill Faddoul • Partner, Verrill Farm LLC Jennifer Verrill Faddoul helped bring the business from a “you-pick” operation to its first farm stand in 1995, and subsequently added a bakery and kitchen component, creating jobs and adding space. When the business was reorganized, she was added as a partner. Today Verrill Farm is operated as a partnership between Stephen and Joan Verrill and their daughter. It consists of about 200 acres in Concord and Sudbury, with 100 acres of prime farmland and 100 acres of wildlife habitats, woodlands and wetlands.

Michele Kolligian • Senior Vice President, Distributor Corporation of New England Michele Kolligian represents the second generation in the company her father and uncle founded 51 years ago. She and three siblings now own and operate the company, which distributes premier HVAC products throughout New England. She leads the human resources segment, orchestrates customer events, including an annual sales incentive trip, and is the customer liaison within the company. Her volunteer work includes the Armenia Library and Museum and the Advisory Council of the Family Business Association.

Heidi Lehner • Chairwoman and Director, Leigh Fibers Inc. Heidi Lehner is the only woman of all her siblings and cousins who is actively involved in the family business. She has been at the forefront of making difficult decisions and changing the course of the company, which has experienced increased profitability in recent quarters, and can now focus on additional growth through new product lines or acquisitions.

Faith Pulis President and CEO, The Thoreau Club & Camp Thoreau Faith Pulis took over operations in 2004 as the third generation to manage an enterprise that started in 1951 as a children’s summer day camp.

Her father grew it into a year-round enterprise in the 1970s.

It expanded into a fitness club in the 1980s. She has led the business through an $8 million construction of a new facility.

The camp has an average 85 percent customer retention rate. Faith is a corporator and member of the Auxiliary at Emerson Hospital.

Congratulations to

Joanne Flynn A 2014 Outstanding Woman of Family Business

McLane.com NEW HAMPSHIRE – MANCHESTER | PORTSMOUTH | CONCORD MASSACHUSETTS – WOBURN

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Continued from page 21

Kathryn Soderberg • President, Soderberg Insurance Services Appointed president of the company 10 years ago, Karen Soderberg successfully cultivated the Hispanic market long before it was recognized as a growth demographic. Today over 30 percent of the company’s more than 3,000 clients are Hispanic. She joined the business after graduating from college with a major in Romance languages, specializing in Spanish. The acquisition of the CPCU gained her the recognition within the business, at which she is the main producer.

Rhonda Sprague • President & Broker/Owner, Harvard Realty Harvard Realty, established in 1964, has a historical knowledge of the local real estate market. Rhonda Sprauge’s nominator, her daughter, credits her with instilling an interest in real estate and says her grit and market knowledge make her successful year after year.

Cheryl Eidinger Taylor • Chief Operating Officer, ERA Key Realty Services Cheryl Taylor manages 14 offices and more than a half billion dollars in annual sales, leading her company to become one of the top 10 agencies in Massachusetts, and one of the top 10 franchises out of more than 2,400 in the franchise system. She has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Realtors and on the Massachusetts Association of Realtors Agency Law Task Force, which created new consumer disclosures for real estate.

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LAW OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GORDON E. FEENER

FAMILY BUSINESS SERVICE GUIDE DIRECTORY

Over 22 years of Experience Assisting family business with: Offering comprehensive investment counsel, estate planning and fiduciary services to individuals, families and endowments for over 35 years.

— Please contact Mike Brown at MikeB@BFMinvest.com —

ONE WINTHROP SQUARE, BOSTON, MA 02110 617-338-8108 • www.BFMinvest.com

The Boston Group David C Mc Avoy Managing Partner Boston (617) 742-6200 nmfn-thebostongroup.com Together, we’ll build a financial plan for your business.

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