Craig School of Business

2019 California Family Business Award Winner

Excerpt from The Business Journal

Young’s Commercial Transfer, a Porterville-based agricultural trucking firm, was named the 2019 Distinguished Family Business of the Year Wednesday night at the 30th annual California Family Business Awards.

Youngs Commercial Transfer

Put on by the Institute for Family Business at California State University,
Fresno, the event held at TorNino’s Banquets in Fresno recognized nine local family-owned businesses, along with one person named as recipient of a lifetime achievement award.

“Each one of you brings a unique story that serves as a testament to being part of something bigger here in the San Joaquin Valley,” Fernando Parra, director of the IFB, told the crowd attending the ceremony.

“You will hear two common themes throughout the interviews —
a core set of family values and a commitment to serving above self.” From almost 100 nominations, the following companies each was honored with a 2019 Outstanding Family Business award:

Bennett Water Systems
C. A. Reding Company
Fresno Truck Center
Hedrick’s Chevrolet
JD Food
Realty Concepts
ServiceMaster by Benevento
Sethi Management

Youngs received the Distinguished Family Business Award.

In 1935, G.W. Young applied for a transportation license from the California State Board of Equalization. After 84 years, Young’s Commercial Transfer still is growing.

“The Youngs are an employment rock for the local community of Porterville … helping their farm customers bring in harvest after harvest in good times and bad drought and flood, freeze and heatwave,” Parra said in a press release.

Jimmy Maxey, who grew up working in his father’s meat-processing company, received a lifetime achievement award for JD Food, a third-generation food-distribution business based in Fresno.

The IFB is part of the Craig School of Business at Fresno State, providing education for family-owned businesses as well as scholarships for the next generation of family-owned business operators.

The annual family business awards symbolize the importance of families
their businesses and the interrelatedness of success for both,, the press release continues.

“Family businesses like yours, both large and small, significantly drive today’s economy and the strength of where we live,” Dr. Robert Harper, Dean of the Craig School of Business, stated in the release.

2018 California Family Business Award Winner

Excerpt from The Business Journal

The McCaffrey Group was selected as the top family enterprise in the Institute for Family Business's California Family Business Award program.

More than 200 people attended the awards event at Fort Washington Country Club in Fresno Wednesday night. The annual event is hosted by the Institute for Family Business at Fresno State.

This year 115 nominations were received for the prestigious award, which were whittled down to 20 businesses that were interviewed by local judges. From there 10 family businesses were selected as award honorees, with the McCaffrey family winning the top honor after another round of out-of-state judging. The Hobab family, owner of the Deli Delicious franchise, was honored as a "Rising Star" winner for up-and-coming family businesses.

Friday's print edition of The Business Journal is devoted to the winner and honorees of the California Family Business Award. Here are some of the highlights:

California Family Business Award winner: The McCaffrey Group, Inc.

Though the company hasn't always had the McCaffrey name, they've been building homes in the Central Valley for over 50 years and it all started with its founder, John Bonadelle.

Discharged from the army due to a back injury during WWII, Bonadelle was asked to do construction work on someone's home and found the work so gratifying that he started buying lots and building homes.

Time passed, and after having hired trade contractors to help with the work, he started building subdivisions, the first ones being near the Fresno State campus, Saint Agnes Medical Center and Manchester Center.

In 1980, after having built 10,000 homes, Bonadelle let his daughter Karen and her husband Bob McCaffrey acquire the business and they gave it the McCaffrey name.

Today, Bob is serving as president, and Brent, the couple's son, is serving as CEO.

Over 9,000 homes have been built under the McCaffrey name and the company is currently working on its biggest project to date. A 1,600-acre master planned community is scheduled to open in the fall in Madrea County that will include more than 5,100 new homes, businesses, a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school, a fire station and a sheriff's substation.

Karen credits the third generation of her family, Brent, and her son-in-law, Ash, for spearheading the new development and that she is thankful for being able to work with her family.

"As a parent, it's just deeply gratifying to work with your son and daughter and son-in-law and daughter-in-law and watch them blossom and develop," she said.

Published on May 24, 2018 - 3:06 PM
Written by The Business Journal Staff

2018 Family Business Award Honorees