The 2021 Family-Owned Business Awards will honor multi-generational and family-owned businesses in Western New York for overall excellence, innovation, ethics, philanthropy and contribution to the strength of the region. Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges. We are seeking self-nominations from family-owned businesses, as well as nominations from service providers and others that know the business well.

Nominations due by Friday, September 10th!
View the nomination form here.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Why Nominate for the Family Business Awards? 

Family businesses are important drivers of the local and regional economy. All finalists will be profiled in a Business First special publication and celebrated at an awards dinner.  

These awards will honor the success and impact of multi-generational family businesses in the region. We’re looking for family businesses that have endured through multiple generations, have continued to change with the times and contribute to the community. 

Nomination Benefits 

• An award as a leading family-owned business sends a message of success to employees and prospective employees and gives a company the follow-on chance to recognize workers for their contribution to the business’s success. 
• Recognition by Buffalo’s business community can make the business more visible in the community. 
• A nomination is a great way for business advisers to recognize their clients.  
• The awards dinner will be a wonderful opportunity to build contacts, meet and network with other nominees, service providers and community business leaders. 

Terry Galanis Sr. Leadership Award for Multi-Generational Family Run Businesses.

Sealing Devices Inc., founder and chairman of the Board, Terry Galanis, Sr. passed away June 25, 2020 at the age of 102 years.  Mr. Galanis Sr., better known in the office as “Mr. G”, enjoyed being in the office, seeing smiling faces and spending time with his friends and team.

He will be remembered for building a company from the ground up, exhibiting strong leadership and creating an environment where people look forward to coming to work every day. He believed in honesty, truthfulness and ethical values that ran deeply through his companies’ culture.

Buffalo Business First is proud to partner with the Galanis Family and Sealing Devices to create the Terry Galanis Sr. Leadership Award for Multi-Generational Family Run Businesses.

Nominations will be accepted until Sept. 10. Companies:

• Must be at least 50.1% family owned. 
• Must have been in business for at least five years. 
• Must have at least 2 family members involved in business operations. 
• Must be headquartered in Western New York. (8 counties: Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Wyoming, Allegany, Genesee and Orleans)

View the nomination form here.

• NEW – to nominate a company, Business First requests users log in with a password/username.
  • There is no charge for a nominating user account.  A paid subscription to Business First is not required.
  • The purpose of the login is to provide  users with the ability to save a nomination form as a work in progress if the need arises to leave the form and go back to it later.
  • The login account is required for any Business First nomination, not just Family Business Awards.  (Other categories include 40 Under 40, Best Places to Work, Healthiest Employers, Who’s Who nominations, etc.)

Nomination categories:

• Community Impact: Awarded to a business moving the local economy forward, giving back to the community and creating a legacy of philanthropy and socio-economic growth through community building initiatives.
• Fastest Growth: Honors companies that increased revenue the most based on percentage of annual growth over a three-year period.
• First Generation: Honors a family-owned company that is privately held but has not been in business long enough to undergo a generational succession. This company must be at least 50.1% privately owned.
• Innovation: Awarded to the company with best practices that include methods, products and ideas to advance the organization through multiple generations using new ideas, technologies and creative problem solving.
• Cornerstone Award: The equivalent of the Lifetime Achievement Winner for a company that has sustained their business model and continued with excellent growth over at least two decades.
• Transformation: Goes to a long-standing business that may not have started in the goods, services or business model the company is currently in, but has adapted and transformed their business.
• Agricultural Family: Recognizes a family-run business in Western New York’s agricultural industry, specifically for adapting the business model to succeed in today’s business climate and for their exemplary dialogue between generations, recognizing challenges in transferring the farm management and leading & developing the next generation of farmers.

Questions? 

Contact:
Jennifer Houle
Director of Events
Business First of Buffalo
716.541.1639
jhoule@bizjournals.com