Roden Center accepting award nominees
So far there are seven nominees for the Permian Basin Family Business of the Year Award which is organized by the Jan and Ted Roden Center or Entrepreneurship, Director Leslie Toombs said.
“We realized that family businesses make up a great deal of employers (locally),” Toombs said.
There are several different categories: small businesses, meaning under 50 employees, medium businesses, with 50 to 100 employees and large businesses, with 101 employees or more.
And within those categories there are special awards for innovation, community service and family values, Toombs said.
To qualify for the award a business must be capable of passing ownership to the next generation, must have more than one family members employed and active in the organization, good business performance and concern for family values.
The generational element is crucial since many family businesses can’t maintain long term sustainability, Toombs said.
“The family element is part of the problem,” Toombs said. “You can have infighting within the business.”
So the awards are a way of recognizing successful family businesses.
Once someone is nominated they will be contacted by the Roden Center to complete an application to be considered for an award, Toombs said.
After all of the nominations are received by Feb. 17, external judges will decide who is going to recieve an award.
The number of award recipients selected differs each year, but being nominated is a designation past award recipients appreciated.
Previously, Sewell Ford was nominated for a Roden award, Sewell Ford Director of Marketing Robert Simmons said.
While he didn’t know whether anyone had nominated them this year, Simmons said they are always honored by such recognitions.
“It’s really pretty humbling,” Simmons said.
