Commitment to Connection
Goering Center Family & Private Business Awards honorees share their experiences and challenges in 2020-2021 pandemic-environment:
Our first Core Member Economic Impact Study has been published. Goering Center members and Corporate Partners were surveyed in October 2020 and the results published in April 2021.
Goering Center Newsletter
We provide members of the media and the general public with relevant, complete and timely information about our mission, member services and the impact we are making in the region. Hear from our region’s thought leaders and learn about our members and volunteers.
Link to digital edition of the Business Succession Forum supplement
In July 2021, Goering Center president Carol Butler participated in the Cincinnati Business Courier's Business Succession Forum, where a panel of 4 experts from different fields discussed the challenges of and best practices for a successful business transition.
Connection is the Key to Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Times
After a brief respite, challenging times are upon us again. For many, maintaining community and staying supportive have become declarations and statements of intent as we navigate uncharted waters.
And that’s what the Goering Center Family & Private Business Awards are celebrating this year: the new and interesting ways that family and private businesses
have innovated to maintain vital connections with employees, vendors, stakeholders, customers and clients, partners, family members, and the community at large.
On February 7, 2021, the Goering Center lost its founder and friend John Goering. Those who knew him miss him terribly, and those who never met him wish they had. We are proud and bolstered to continue his legacy as tributes and fond memories pour in, and we would like to share his joy, his wisdom and his profound kidness with you as well.
October 12, 2021
Large-scale cyberattacks like Solar Winds and Colonial Pipeline make international headlines. But the bigger organizations aren’t the only ones at risk for devastating breaches.
October 12, 2021
For over 20 years, The 8 Steps to Succession Planning ® have assisted families in executing their business transitions. Family gatherings often prompt discussions about the family business and its future, and people tend to walk away disappointed, mad or with different understandings of the situation. It is when the frustration builds and the family business is in jeopardy that family members seek help.
October 12, 2021
Most business owners focus on ‘maximizing enterprise value’ as they contemplate a potential business sale. But giving equal consideration to ‘maximizing net proceeds’ of the deal and paying closer attention to the following drivers of net proceeds may actually result in more wealth to your family post-transaction.
September 16, 2021
We are proud and honored that the Goering Center is supported by over 200 professionals who volunteer their unique expertise, leadership, and perspective to the business community through our educational programs, our boards, and our committees. To recognize their outstanding effort, each year we present one of our volunteers with the Keith Baldwin Volunteer Award. This award was created to honor the extraordinary commitment of one our earliest and most dedicated volunteers, Keith Baldwin. Michael Miller, Executive Vice President & Chief Wealth Officer, LCNB National Bank, is the 2021 recipient of the Baldwin Award, acknowledging exemplary commitment and voluntary service to the Goering Center.
September 16, 2021
The food service industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic in 2020, and Sweets & Meats BBQ was no exception. In the early days of the pandemic, when everything was shut down, Sweets & Meats’ carry-out remained open – but that would not be enough to survive. They began offering online ordering and curbside pick-up, partnered with Kroger to sell packaged meats and sides in the deli department in their neighborhood store, and began taking their food trucks out to Cincinnati area neighborhoods. They would hit four neighborhoods a day within a 30-mile radius of their restaurant for a period of 15 months, offering family packages and individual meals for pick up from their food truck and trailer. This additional service kept them in business and broadened their audience.
September 16, 2021
One of a leader’s key responsibilities is to identify and develop future leaders. The Goering Center demonstrates its commitment to the region’s future generation of leaders by bestowing the Larry Grypp Rising Leader Award. Named for past president Larry Grypp in acknowledgement of his leadership accomplishments, this award is given to one Rising Leader, nominated by their member company, for demonstrating success at advancing one of the Goering Center’s 10 Best Practices of Successful Family and Private Businesses. Jack Brendamour was nominated for the following Best Business Practices: for Business Growth by Cody Campbell and for Giving Back by Julie Heil.
September 16, 2021
At the onset of the pandemic, Designs Direct Creative Group established three priorities: preserving their culture, supporting their customers, and maintaining their most important partnerships. To preserve their culture, their team emphasized the need for open, honest, and consistent communication.
September 16, 2021
Abstract Displays, Inc. is a creator and provider of 3D marketing environments for the trade show and event industry – building connections between their clients and their clients’ prospects is what they do. What’s more, they were doing this in the real world. That is until COVID-19 brought the trade show industry to a screeching halt.
September 16, 2021
When the pandemic hit, Matthew Dooley witnessed many of his clients suffer – Dooley Social Studio quickly took action, mapping out those who were most at-risk and working with them to develop a plan of attack. Frequent, authentic communication with each client was key. Clients pulled closer to the studio, not only because of their existing relationships, but also because of the importance of communicating via social media during a time of social distancing.
September 16, 2021
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, GMi Companies did not make Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). When their traditional business dropped by 50%, their company quickly developed new families of products that would enable other businesses to reopen their doors to the public and allow employers to bring employees safely back to the office.
September 16, 2021
At the start of the pandemic, Barnes Dennig was among the first to move to remote working. Thanks to proactive investments in technology over the years, the firm was able to make the switch virtually overnight, and at the height of their busiest season, without compromising work quality or client service.
September 16, 2021
When quarantine was mandated in March of 2020, VonLehman’s number one concern was the safety of its employees and clients. All employees were sent home immediately, and the office was closed. Once the safety of the employees was established, VonLehman developed committees to ensure all steps going forward were taken with caution. A “Rapid Response Team” was formed to communicate to employees on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis with updates on how COVID was impacting the firm. Transparency has always been a strong suit for VonLehman and that became more important than ever.
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