Selects Two La Crosse Area Non-profits to Share $75,000 Award Donation
Madison – The winner has been selected, and Western Wisconsin manufacturer L.B. White Company has earned the prestigious Wisconsin Business Achievement Award given by the Flowers Family Foundation, Inc. The award was presented to L.B. White C.E.O. Rick Diermeier at the WMC Foundation State of Wisconsin Business event in Madison this afternoon, and honors outstanding economic and philanthropic contributions. It includes a $75,000 donation from the Flowers Family Foundation, Inc. to support a non-profit organization of the winners choice. L.B. White employees decided to share the donation between two La Crosse area non-profits: Couleecap Work-N-Wheels program, and the Coulee Region Business Center.
“All of the employees at L.B. White are proud of this achievement. To be recognized among the many fine Wisconsin companies that were nominated for this award is truly special,” L.B. White C.E.O. Rick Diermeier says. “As a world leader in providing innovative heating solutions for agriculture and construction applications, our employees prove every day that Wisconsin manufacturers can compete with anyone in the world and win! And we appreciate the fact that the Flowers Family Foundation is allowing us to split the $75,000 award equally between the Work-N-Wheels program within Couleecap, and the Coulee Region Business Center, the leading local small business incubator. The donations will help more individuals and families achieve economic prosperity and entrepreneurs to realize their dreams.”
Based in Onalaska, Wisconsin, L.B. White was founded in 1952 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of propane, natural gas and kerosene heaters for agricultural, construction, tent and greenhouse environments. The company’s award donation of $37,500 to Couleecap will be matched by the state and used to help struggling families with their transportation needs. The Coulee Region Business Center plans to use its $37,500 award donation to revitalize its building while helping to keep the space affordable to entrepreneurial companies.
“My vision for the Wisconsin Business Achievement Award has always been highlighting the incredibly valuable and often unheralded contributions of businesses to the community,” Flowers Family Foundation, Inc.’s Rockne “Rock” Flowers says. “L.B. White is enhancing the quality of life for people, not only through its positive economic impact, but also through its charitable contributions. We are pleased to support these efforts.”
Finalists for the Wisconsin Business Achievement Award were narrowed down from hundreds of nominees across the state. The winner was then selected by a panel of judges including WMC President and CEO Kurt Bauer, University of Wisconsin System President Regina Millner, and Collin Levy of The Wall Street Journal.
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