Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1471060
Family Business Awards 2022 Carolyn 'Cal' Miller-Stevens Miller Foods Inc. Avon Industry: Pet food manufacturing, poultry distribution Year Founded: 1950 Founder: Earl and Margaret Miller Generation Running Company: 3rd (Capri Brighenti)/4th (Adam DeJulius) Full-Time Employees: 40 Family Members Employed at Company: Carolyn 'Cal' Miller-Stevens, Chief Ambassador, Daughter of Earl and Margaret Miller; Capri Brighenti, President, Cal's Niece; Adam DeJulius, Chief Financial Officer, Cal's Great Nephew; Samuel Stevens, Consultant, Cal's Husband; Michele Iania, Director of Procurement, Cal's Niece Websites: www.millerfarms.us, www.omaspride.com Operating since 1950, Miller Foods Inc. is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated company, focused on feeding people and pets. The company began as a poultry farm in Avon, selling eggs door to door and continues to provide the community with fresh turkeys sourced seasonally from small family farms through the Miller Poultry Farm and MIller Farms brands. The majority of the business is now Oma's Pride, manufacturing all- natural premium pet food made at the same Avon farm and sold nationwide. Tell us a bit about your recent accomplishments. As active members of the community, Miller Foods Inc. is a member of the Avon Chamber of Commerce, Avon- Canton Rotary, Avon Historical Society and Connecticut Business & Industry Association. Oma's Pride, undergoing a refreshed packaging update, will be partnering with one of the nation's premier pet food distributors, increasing our presence in quality retail stores from coast to coast. This, in turn, will lead to the added investment in our manufacturing, cold storage and fulfillment center, which expanded to Bristol in 2019. Where do you see your business in the next five years? We're currently focused on the growth and expansion of our Oma's Pride pet food with the investment in new equipment, technology, facilities and additional employment opportunities for our teammates. Turkey will remain part of our heritage, and will continue to pivot to a philanthropic model, serving the communities where we live and work. L I F E T I M E A C H I E V E M E N T A W A R D 10 | FAMILY BUSINESS 2022 AWARDS Dan Russell Russell and Dawson Inc. East Hartford Industry: Architecture, Engineering and Construction Year Founded: 1965 Founder: Robert M. Dawson III & Dan L. Russell Generation Running Company: First of Chirag Thaker family Full-Time Employees: 17 Part-Time Employees: 2 Website: www.rdaep.com Russell and Dawson Inc. is an integrated architecture, engineering and construction services company, serving across the New England region. Tell us a bit about your recent accomplishments. Dan Russell fostered a rich, noteworthy professional legacy spanning more than 68 years. He is relentless in his passion for the profession, for society at large and for the sustainable environment. He maintained an interest in professional architectural practice throughout his career, contributing to many projects throughout the U.S., from churches to houses and seemingly everything in between. How do you plan to keep your business going even after your current top executive retires? L I F E T I M E A C H I E V E M E N T A W A R D Dan Russell, a retiree, co-founder, vice president of Russell and Dawson, spent ample time with Chirag Thaker (current president) for about nine years before he decided to retire. Dan has molded and mentored the team in a way that values have been passed on to the employees. We work on the principles set forth by them. Chirag worked with Dan side by side, in agreement with the way a business runs. Dan had the creative ideas, executed by Chirag. The co-founder still shares his wisdom when required. What are your family values and how do they contribute to your business success? Dan believed in leading by example and teamwork. He engaged with his employees in their happy times and difficult days. He mentored them professionally as well as personally to be successful in life. High school graduate students shadowed him at the office to learn and observe how he worked. The team members were a part of most of his meetings with customers, thus practicing what we believe in. Everyone working with him learned how to live in the community and how everyone should be working as one family, helping each other in need. Our latest Greater Hartford business news delivered at noon each weekday << SIGN UP TODAY >> GO TO HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/ENEWSLETTERS Stay current with the most important business news in Connecticut! Emailed to you on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons << SIGN UP TODAY >> GO TO NEWHAVENBIZ.COM/ENEWSLETTERS Our latest Greater Hartford business news delivered at noon each weekday << SIGN UP TODAY >> GO TO HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/ENEWSLETTERS Stay current with the most important business news in Connecticut! Emailed to you on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons << SIGN UP TODAY >> GO TO NEWHAVENBIZ.COM/ENEWSLETTERS Stay Current with the most important business news in Connecticut!