Elizabethtown College News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1/3/05
Contact: Mary Dolheimer, director of marketing and media relations, 717-361-1587, dolheimerm@etown.edu
E-town Family Business Center hosts talk by Auntie Anne’s CEO, founder
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown College’s Family Business Center will host a seminar by the founder and CEO of Auntie Anne’s, Inc., at 8:30 a.m., Jan. 27, in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. Anne Beiler’s talk, "The Story of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels," is open and free to family businesses who are interested in learning more about The Family Business Center. The registration deadline is Jan. 17. For more information, please call Rosa at The Family Business Center at 717-361-1275.
Beiler has managed her business – Auntie Anne’s Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels -- from one farmer’s market stand to a franchise organization with 150 corporate staff, supporting more than 250 franchisees and their 800-plus locations worldwide. Because of her attention to detail, investment in employees, and dedication, her company has been featured in several collegiate business textbooks as a prime example of how to manage a franchise system. In 2003, the Auntie Anne’s franchise system generated $234 million in sales and gave more than $1 million to charitable organizations.
Beiler was named one of America’s 500 women entrepreneurs by Working Woman and "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Inc. Magazine, and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Eastern College. Her entrepreneurial insights have also been featured on many television shows, including The Food Network’s "Unwrapped" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and in magazines such as Fortune, Nation’s Restaurant News and Guideposts.
The Family Business Center at Elizabethtown College and its corporate sponsors — Barley Snyder, Fulton Bank, Glatfelter Insurance Group, and McKonly & Asbury —help family business "Prepare for Tomorrow" by providing opportunities to address and resolve their succession, management, ownership, and strategic issues. Through a special program of seminars, access to national resources and networking, the Center seeks to support and strengthen family businesses.
At Elizabethtown College -- central Pennsylvania’s premier small, comprehensive college -- 1800 men and women enjoy personal attention, breadth of curriculum, experiential learning and a commitment to serving others. Elizabethtown has been ranked for 11 consecutive years by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top comprehensive colleges in the North.
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