Family businesses spanning generations were honored last week at the annual Family Owned Business awards luncheon put on by the Business Journal and California State University, Fullerton’s Family Business Council.
* Orange-based Don Jose Restaurants won the large business award. Rod Fraser, a country boy from Oregon, started the company. Don Jose has Mexican restaurants in Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Laguna Hills and elsewhere.
* Ellison Corp., a Lake Forest maker of machines for cutting shapes out of paper and other materials, won the medium business award.
LaDorna Ellison Eichenberg started the company in 1977 at age 50. Today, daughter Lisa Corcoran runs the company with hired hand Kent Chesley. Teachers and hobbyists use Ellison’s products.
* Herrington Teddy Bear Co. of Irvine won for small business. The company, run by brothers Chris and Martin Herrington, makes teddy bears for stores and colleges, which put their names on them. One of the Herringtons’ biggest accounts is Hard Rock Cafe.
* Anaheim-based Custom Comfort Mattress won an up-and-coming award. The company makes handcrafted mattresses.
Mel Trudell started the company in 1983 with his brother Marty Trudell, who’s now retired.
Mel Trudell is one of 10 kids, the fourth from the top. He grew up used to sharing sleeping quarters.
The company now is mounting a marketing push and plans to open more showrooms.
* Irvine’s O’Connor Family Mortuary won the longevity award,no joke intended. The company has been in business since 1898. Irish immigrant Patrick O’Connor cofounded it. The business now is on its fourth generation.
John Shea, chairman of Walnut-based real estate and construction company J.F. Shea Co., served as keynote speaker of the event, held at the Hyatt Regency Irvine on Nov. 17. Shea recently turned over day-to-day operations to a new generation with Chief Executive Peter Shea Jr.
Look for more coverage on the honorees in the Nov. 28 edition of the Business Journal.
