Local businesses have named the finalists for Alabama Business of the Year
Published on Saturday October 29, 2022 at 11:00 am.
Andalusia Town & Country Boutique and Taylor Linen Services were each named finalists for the Alabama Business of the Year Award.
Finalists were selected from nominations submitted by local Alabama Chambers of Commerce. Alabama chapters had the opportunity to nominate one member small business for each award category. Awards are presented in the following categories: Emerging Business (less than 5 years old), Small Business 1-10 employees, Small Business 11-50 employees, or Small Business 51-100 employees.
Merle Jones opened the doors of Town and Country on Andalusia Square in 1951. A decade later they moved to South Three Knot Street to the former Foreman Funeral Home, or the “Green House” as everyone called it. Ms. Jones’ daughter, Pat Thompson, continued to own and operate the store until about 2010, when it was purchased by the second owner. She eventually moved to West Pass and founded Trio Shopping Center with two other local businessmen.
Terry Proctor purchased the store in the summer of 2020 and immediately became involved with the City of Andalucia in working to relocate Town and Country to downtown Andalucia. In the year In early 2023, the store will open in the Prestwood building, just steps from its original location in 1951.
“We were chosen by the Chamber of Commerce of the Andalucia region of Andalucia to represent one to 10 workers in the small business sector. I currently have four employees working for me in the shop. I worked with Laura Wells at the Chamber to compile a list of projects I have been involved with in our community. These awards are based on civic engagement,” said Proctor.
Presented annually by the Chamber of Commerce of Alabama (CCAA) and the Chamber of Commerce of Alabama (BCA), the awards recognize businesses based on a variety of civic endeavors, business success and community involvement.
Proctor was contacted by Peggy Hutto with the CCAA regarding Town & Country being selected as a finalist.
“I’m happy to represent my hometown and this amazing and supportive community. We have something special here in Andalucia and I’m looking forward to taking a little bit of this corner of our region to the awards ceremony in November,” she said.
Taylor Linen Services, a 51-100 finalist Employees category, opened its doors in 1997 in Andalusia.
“It started with a commitment to being the best linen and towel supplier in our market and a business with a safe and desirable work environment. Andalucia has a strong pro-business city government. We also have great public schools that help attract workers with young families to the city,” said office manager Catherine. “We look forward to representing our employees and our city at the State Council event,” Jones said.
Jones added that this recognition is exciting for the company’s entire team.
“What we do every day is long, hard, hot hours and it’s often not the first industry people think of. While we work hard every day to provide superior products and service to each of our customers, we work equally hard to make Taylor Linen Services a business people can be proud to run.”
According to Jones, working in a family-run business has many advantages.
“All the staff are not just bench warmers, but it’s very easy to be a teammate on the field. We all know each other personally and when your employer recognizes you as a friend, they don’t call it a day and leave you there working. They stay and help you finish. Even though the brand represents a family on our team, the people who work here We have many families with multiple family members. At one point, we counted up to eight families with two and five family members currently working at Taylor Linen Services.
All award winners will be honored at the BCA/CCAA Partnership Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 30 in Birmingham. Three winners (Gold, Silver and Bronze) will be awarded in each of the four categories. Each category is represented by 10 finalists in the state.
