> SBA Awards 2009
SBA Awards 2009Carmon Community Funeral Homes NamedU.S. Small Business Administration's Family-Owned Business of the Year WINDSOR, CONN., July 24, 2009 Carmon Community Funeral Homes, based in Windsor, Conn., has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) "2009 Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year" for Connecticut. This award honors a family-owned and operated business which has been passed from one generation to another, demonstrating long-term business success and increased employment for family and non-family members. The award was accepted by Frank W. Carmon, IV, Secretary of the 63-year-old family-owned company which is based in Windsor, Conn. and manages nine funeral homes and a crematory in Greater Hartford. Members of the Carmon family and staff attended the event. In presenting the award at the SBA's Annual Small Business Awards Presentation, Bernard M. Sweeney, District Director of the Connecticut Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration commented, "As a family business, the Carmons have now extended into three generations involving family members actively participating in the leadership, management and operations of the business. While their colleagues within the industry have encountered difficulties in developing the next generation into the funeral service business, the Carmon Family has been able to expand their family involvement through acquisitions which have enabled them to develop and advance family members and to build the scale of operation needed to remain a viable presence in a field that has seen large multi-state companies advance a strategy of consolidation". Sweeney added, "Since 1946 The Carmon Community Funeral Homes' creed has been rooted in the understanding and belief that their work is a "mission of service". Included with the presentation of the SBA Award were citations and comments from Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Connecticut State Comptroller Nancy Wyman. Mr. Carmon and his family were nominated for the award by Jane Garibay, Executive Director of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce. Carmon Community Funeral Homes is a family-owned company that was founded in 1946 in Windsor, Conn. The business has been a trailblazer in its profession by helping families to plan meaningful and personal funerals and memorial services to remember the lives of people they love. The firm's family and staff members are encouraged to participate in professional and business organizations, including service on boards, committees and Chambers of Commerce, and in a wide variety of civic and charitable activities. Members of the company have held top leadership positions for the National and Connecticut Funeral Directors Associations. The 63-year-old firm developed many innovative programs that provide support to people coping with death. Decades ago, Carmon Community Funeral Homes developed the region's first bereavement support groups for widows and widowers. Now known as "Begin Again," these sessions offer a safe haven for expressing feelings of anger and frustration, and provide how-to classes on household responsibilities. In the 1990s, the family-owned company created "Mary's Place, a Center for Grieving Children and Families". Funded by the Carmon Family and by donations from individuals and other foundations, Mary's Place provides a trusting atmosphere for children and teens who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or another significant person, and offers support groups for young widows and widowers. Carmon Community Funeral Homes operates nine funeral homes and a crematory in North Central Connecticut: Carmon Funeral Home in Windsor; Carmon Poquonock Funeral Home in Windsor; Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center in Avon; Hayes-Huling & Carmon Funeral Home in Granby; Ladd Homestead in Rockville; Ladd-Turkington & Carmon Funeral Home in Vernon; Nicholson & Carmon Funeral Home in Suffield; Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home in South Windsor; and South Green Memorial Home in Hartford. |