2001 was certainly a banner year for B.W. Bishop and Sons, Inc.The Guilford, Conn. family orchard and farm market proudly added two more prestigious national awards to its mantle last year — the coveted MassMutual National Family Business of the Year Award AND The SBC 50 award, from "Small Business Computing" magazine.

Some may say that choosing just one "standout" year from Bishop's impressive 131-year history would be a difficult task, but 2001 has to make the family's short list.

A National Family Business of the Year Award Winner
Bishop's Orchards won the 2000 MassMutual National Family Business of the Year Award in their "under 50 employees" category.

MassMutual developed its national award program in 1994 to highlight the accomplishments of outstanding family businesses and the attributes of their success. Judges make their selections based on many diverse criteria, from the financial success of the business and its innovative business practices to its contributions to the community and the industry it serves.

For a closer look at Bishop's Orchards, just click on the image of the MassMutal award winners brochure.

The SBC 50
"Small Business Computing" magazine named Bishop Orchards as one of its 50 most notable businesses for 2000. The SBC 50 is the magazine's tribute to tech-savvy small businesses across the country. "Small Business Computing" judged Bishop Orchard's electronic farmers market and customer-loyalty program as "an inspirational use of technology."

A First Pioneer salute
First Pioneer says "hats off" to Bishop's Orchards, your family and staff. Your accomplishments help spread the word about the many outstanding innovative and organizational practices found in today's successful agricultural businesses.

We are very proud to say that Bishop's Orchards has been a First Pioneer member since 1979. Keith, Jon and Diane are the fifth generation to own and operate the business. Their fathers, Al and Gene, still serve on the board of directors but are not active in day-to-day management. The Bishops sell their own native fruits and vegetables from their year-round farm market and bakery. They also operate a pick-your-own operation and sell creative farm gifts and fruit baskets.

Keith served on the First Pioneer board of directors from 1996 to 1997, stepping down when his brother, Dave, became the manager of First Pioneer's Bedford office. Keith has also been a member of the Enfield Customer Service Committee since its inception in 1995. And in his early days, he participated in the Farm Credit Fellows program.

Keith Bishop: "I think that I speak for our entire family and staff when I say we are all very proud to be recognized for our hard work. At Bishop's Orchards, we take our work and our service to our community very seriously, so we are especially proud to have national businesses recognize our work and our contributions. We give a lot of credit to the Center for Family Business at the University of New Haven (www.newhaven.edu/cfb) for helping us grow and to achieve our goals. We were very pleased to be able to bring home the gold to Guilford, Conn.!"

Stop by any time!
You can visit Bishop's Orchards in person by taking exit 57 of I-95 in Guilford, Conn. or by visiting their Web site at www.bishopsorchards.com.