[caption id="attachment_164100" align="alignnone" width="673"] Left to Right: Will Vanderwende of Vanderwende Farm Creamery; Robert Hilyard of Hilyard's Business Solutions; Fred Hertrich IV of Hertirch Family of Automobile Dealerships; Joseph Giorgi of Giorgi Kitchens & Designs, Inc.[/caption]

More than 300 people packed the DuPont Country Club on May 21 to honor 23 family-owned businesses as part of the Delaware Business Times' 5th Annual Family Owned Business Awards.

"This particular event is special because we celebrate the rarity of the family-owned business," said DBT Publisher Rob Martinelli, whose publications include Delaware Today and Main Line Today. "Only about 30 percent of family-owned businesses make it to the second generation. All the businesses in this room have at least made it to that point, with three at more than 100 years in business. I can relate to the hard work, struggles and rewards to transition a family-owned business to the second generation. Today Media is a second-generation family-owned business with members of the third generation working as well."

[caption id="attachment_164097" align="alignleft" width="563"] Left to Right: Steve Dennis of Schlosser & Associates Mechanical Contractors; Bryan Keen of Keen Compressed Gas Co.; Edward Stien of Stuart Kingston Jewelers and Tom Nason of Nason Construction. Not Pictured: Jay Meany of Hy-Point Farms.[/caption]

Ben duPont was the keynote speaker, regaling the audience with stories about turning points for his family's business dating back to the late 1700s. He also offered advice to the younger generations present, urging them to focus on succession planning, understanding interfamily dynamics, and the importance of software on their businesses.

"The legacy of the DuPont Company is the thousands of small businesses that have been created over the years," said duPont, who is managing partner of Chartline Capital Partners, a co-owner of the DuPont Country Club since April 2018, and founder of yet2.com and yet2Ventures. He also serves as a director of GigSky, Ecrio, Vorbeck, MSCI, Longwood Gardens, Zip Code Wilmington, and the Tower Hill School.

DBT organized nominees into four categories based on size and announced category winners and a special Legacy Award to five of the companies:

Category Winners:

• Small: Vanderwende Farm Creamery
• Medium: Giorgi Kitchens & Designs Inc.
• Large: Hilyard's Business Solutions
• X-Large: Hertrich Family of Automobile Dealerships

Legacy Awards:

• Small: Stuart Kingston Jewelers
• Medium: Nason Construction Inc.
• Large: Schlosser & Associates Mechanical Contractors
• X-Large: Hy-Point Farms and Keen Compressed Gas Co.

Both Hy-Point Farms and Keen Compressed Gas Co. are celebrating 100 years in business in 2019.

"The Delaware Business Times staff was an absolute joy to work with," said Schlosser & Associates President Steve Dennis. "They made the entire application, interview, and photo shoot process fun and effortless."

Other honorees were:

• Buckley's Auto Care
• Half Baked Patisserie
• Mobile Cloud Video Game Party LLC
• R.S. Widdoes & Son Inc.
• Budget Rooter Plumbing & Drainin Cleaning
• Evans Farms
• Fred Drake Automotive
• Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Homes and Crematory
• Breslin Contracting Inc.
• Kent Construction Company
• Nicola Pizza
• O.A. Newton
• Ashby Hospitality Group
• Concord Pet Food & Supplies.