Appalachian Family Business Forum at Broyhill Inn October 20

Story by Corinne Saunders

The Appalachian Family Business Forum will take place on Tuesday, October 20, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at The Broyhill Inn & Conference Center in Boone.

The ASU Walker College of Business, The Biltmore Company and the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce sponsor the forum, and the registration fee is $25, which includes a light breakfast and lunch.

ASU Chancellor Kenneth Peacock and Boone Area Chamber of Commerce President Dan Meyer will give opening comments at the forum, said Sabrina Cheves, administrative support associate with the Walker College of Business.

Cindy Clarke, executive director of the UNC-Asheville Family Business Forum, will give a family business overview, and then William A.V. “Bill” Cecil, Jr., president and CEO of the Biltmore Company, will lead a communication workshop, Cheves said.

During the luncheon, Jim Deal, an attorney with Deal, Moseley & Smith and chair of the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, will discuss legal issues impacting the family business, and Mickey Dale, CPA and vice president of taxation with Johnson, Price & Sprinkle, will discuss accounting issues impacting the family business, Cheves said.

After the luncheon, a panel discussion will take place. The panelists are Cecil, Joseph Miller, COO of Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff, Hugh MacRae “Crae” Morton, president of Grandfather Mountain, and Chris Robbins, president of Tweetsie Railroad.

Meyer will offer closing comments and a networking reception will follow.

During the forum, panelists will field questions pertaining to the challenges and opportunities presented by family businesses. Topics will include working with family and managing conflict, succession planning, family versus non-family employees and lessons from multi-generational companies.

“Bryan Toney and the folks at the Center for Entrepreneurship and the business school do an incredible amount of service for the people of Watauga County and Boone,” Miller said, adding that he saw becoming a panelist as a chance to give back.

Morton expressed similar reasons for his involvement in the forum.

“The [ASU] Center for Entrepreneurship does a wonderful job for the region,” Morton said. “I’ve been involved with the organization for several years. The opportunity to sit on the panel came up and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to exchange some ideas about family business issues.”

Morton’s family has been involved with Grandfather Mountain since the 1800s, but he is the third generation to be in charge of the mountain in its current nature park/attraction form, which was begun by his grandfather, Morton said.

“Family businesses are unlike typical corporate entities in that you have many new dynamics to contend with,” Morton said. “Those range from your relationship with the public to harmony in the boardroom to estate planning issues. It helps for people in family businesses to explore these issues and know them. This forum will hopefully provide some new hints for family businesses in the region.

“The public will often embrace a well-run family business because it can retain certain ideals and principles that are a little closer to the home and heart than you would find in a traditional publicly treated Wall Street-type company,” Morton said. “The public will often know your business on a more personal level, and that can be great for your operations and business, but it brings some new responsibilities as well.”

Miller said the ambiance of a family business setting is one of the benefits associated with it.

“Having worked for a large corporation, it is, I want to say, a friendlier environment,” Miller said. “There is a feeling of family toward those you work with.”

One challenge specific to a family business situation is the separation of family and business time.

“When you’re sitting at the Thanksgiving table, are you trading turkey with your own flesh and blood or are you having a board meeting?” Morton said. “One of the challenges of a family business is to find some clarity where there is confusion.”

Miller also named the family relationships as a unique factor that could cause a potentially difficult situation in the business realm.

“You’re trying to have a business relationship with someone you have a close personal relationship with as well,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not conducive. To quote a book, ‘You have to learn to keep the family garbage out of the family business.’”

Miller encouraged people to attend the forum and listen to the discussions of various topics.

“Small businesses and family businesses are the backbone of this country, [and] we need this to continue. People need to continue starting their own businesses.”

For more information, call Sabrina Cheves at 828-262-8548. To register, click to www.business.appstate.edu/familyforum.

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