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Press & News |
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Reprint from Oshkosh Chamber's 92nd Annual Meeting and Recognition Program. |
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Small Business Person of the Year "The Small Business Person of the Year is one the most significant awards of the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce. It is awarded to a business that has staying power in the community, has demonstrated financial success, experienced growth in sales, and has shown innovation in its product or services. In addition, the winner of this award has been able to keep the business successful, even through times of adversity, and has contributed greatly to making this community a better place. This year's award winner, David Willeford, has purchased four struggling companies within the last 14 years, bringing them to financial success. When purchased in 1986, H. Derksen & Sons was a wholesale distributor of tobacco products, food, snacks, and other related products. Now, tobacco products account for only 15 percent of sales, while the business has expanded to providing paper products, bar coding systems, packaging materials and the like, with an [annual] sales increase of 12 percent since 1986. In 1997, David purchased NorthNet, an Internet Service Provider. In less than three years, NorthNet has experienced a 2000 percent growth, positioning it to expand throughout the Fox Valley. His other companies include Baker Paper, purchased in 1990, which was an old-line offset printing business without a defined focus to compete effectively, and Wind Walker Label Manufacturing Company in Plymouth, purchased in 1993. Wind Walker had a high-quality product and stable customer base but need to be reorganized. This growth in these companies is due primarily to David's "out of the box" business sense. For example, NorthNet has expanded into a complete Internet solution company, offering everything from basic Internet service to Web site design to telecommunications consulting. And, NorthNet was the first Internet Service Provider in the Fox Valley to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) for companies who sought high-speed transmission of data. It is evident that David cares about the community and the environment, using as his guide Chief Seattle's quote: "We did not inherit the earth from our fathers; we are borrowing it from our children." With that in mind, David began a paper-recycling program in 1992 for business customers' waste paper and serves as secretary of the Wisconsin Buy Recycled Business Alliance. David also has begun a foundation, "We See the Forest," which has contributed $25,000 in scholarships for continuing education for environmental studies for the Menominee tribal-members students. He also has been appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson to the Council of Minority, Veteran and Small Business Opportunities created to provide opportunities for members to do business with the state government. For these and many other accomplishments, we are proud to name David Willeford the Chamber's Small Business Person of the Year."
Reprinted from Oshkosh Chamber's 92nd Annual Meeting and Recognition Program |
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2129 Jackson St Oshkosh, WI 54901 phone: 920.233.5641 facsimile: 920.426.3075 email: info@northnet.net |
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