Bozeman Magazine

Eight businesses will receive Family Business Day awards at the 2017 Montana State University Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship State Farm Insurance Family Business Day, set for Friday, Oct. 6, at the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn in Bozeman. The 2017 Family Business Day award winners are: Midland Claims Service Inc. of Billings and Visser Greenhouses of Manhattan in the very small business category (fewer than 10 employees); L.P. Anderson Point S Tire & Automotive Service of Billings in the small business category (10-30 employees); Columbus IGA & Stillwater Family Pharmacy of Columbus in the medium business category (30-50 employees); American Bank of Bozeman in the large business category (more than 50 employees); Missoula’s Office City of Missoula in the old business category (operating at least 50 years); Bauer & Clausen Optometry of Billings in the new business category (operating 10 or fewer years); and Cowboy Cricket Farms of Belgrade in the special business recognition category. Information about each winning family business will be shared during the awards reception. This year’s keynote speaker will be Lachlan Perks, previous CEO of the global family business Eclipse Inc. He will speak about “Driving Success by Aligning your Business Strategy with the Family Vision,” which will provide tools for utilizing the family vision and assumptions to help determine the ownership plan and, subsequently, the business strategies to lead those in attendance to success. A 1981 graduate of MSU, Lachlan joined his family’s manufacturing business as a development engineer and later transitioned into sales and marketing. His ability to hear the problems of worldwide customers and create unique, reliable solutions led to his promotion to CEO. Eclipse Inc. grew under Perks’ 10-plus-year leadership from an $85 million to a $125 million company and into a company with manufacturing facilities in six countries and sales in every industrialized country. Prior to the awards luncheon, there will be a FREE succession planning workshop hosted by Alistair Stewart, senior business adviser with the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, at 10 a.m. Stewart will share what it takes to achieve a successful exit from — or the continued success of — the business that is the culmination of a life’s work. Check-in for that portion of the event will start at 9:30 a.m. The public is invited to this celebratory and educational event. RSVPs are requested by Sept. 27. A $20 registration is required to attend the keynote luncheon and awards ceremony, with check-in at 11:30 a.m. For more information or to register, contact Anna Reardon at 406-994-6195 or familybusiness@montana.edu.