The Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business announced West Side Tractor Sales has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Illinois Family Business of the Year Community Service Award. The award recognizes a family-owned business in Illinois with exemplary community service efforts.
For more than 25 years, the Family Business Center has recognized family businesses for their contribution to industry and community, as well as innovative business practices and strategies.
"We are honored to be ranked among the many remarkable family businesses in the Loyola program," said Lauren Benck Coffaro, third-generation ownership of West Side Tractor Sales. "The success of our community service initiatives at our family businesses is driven by the many engaged and compassionate employees we have that believe in our legacy each and every day: to have a positive impact on each other, our customers, our industry and the many communities we serve across the Midwest. On behalf of The Benck Family Foundation and our West Side Tractor family, we greatly appreciate the acknowledgment."
In 2018-2019, West Side Tractor Sales employees contributed to service projects benefiting Cocktails & Chemo, Operation Gratitude, Stacy's Sharing Closet, Operation Wild Horse and the Jesse Brown V.A. Hospital. The Benck Family Foundation funded projects at the Naper Settlement's proposed Agricultural Center, Little Friends and Loaves & Fishes among others.
In addition to the philanthropic initiatives, West Side Tractor Sales also focuses on serving the industry and engaging the future generations to join the construction world. Diane Benck, second-generation owner, just concluded her leadership role as the Associated Equipment Distributor's 2018 Chairwoman, the first female in AED's 100-year history to serve as a Chair. In this role, Benck represented the interests of almost 800 U.S. equipment distributors across manufacturers such as John Deere, Caterpillar, Komatsu, Bobcat, Vermeer and many others. She lobbied in Washington, D.C., on the skilled trades labor shortage and nationwide infrastructure needs, as well as launched AED's first annual Women's Leadership Roundtable Event.
Presented in six categories, the awards recognize companies with a strong commitment to family and family business. The 2019 Illinois Family Business of the Year Award winners are:
- Large Family Business: Magid
- Medium Family Business: Rabine Group
- Small Family Business: Daprato Rigali Studios
- Dean's Award: Ozinga
- Community Service: West Side Tractor Sales
- Century Award: Michuda Construction
West Side Tractor Sales will be recognized at an awards gala on Nov. 21, 2019, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.
About Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business
The Family Business Center at Loyola has been supporting its member businesses and families, their employees and communities for 27 years. In 2016, the Family Business Center joined other centers of excellence as part of the Loyola Business Leadership Hub. The Loyola Business Leadership Hub connects businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to the experts, research, and resources in Loyola's Quinlan School of Business and the global Jesuit network of colleges and universities.
West Side employees joined forces with Cocktails & Chemo to distribute 100 care packages to local cancer caregivers in the Chicago area.
Cocktails & Chemo event volunteers.
West Side team writing words of encouragement to the care package recipients.
Barn reconstruction project for Operation Wild Horse.
Donations shipping out from the West Side team to the Jesse Brown V.A. Hospital.
West Side team volunteering at a Little Friends event in Naperville.
Diane Benck speaking in Washington, D.C., as AED Chairwoman.
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