Leiden Cabinet Company Of Twinsburg, Ohio Honored As Aetna’s North Central Region Small Business Of The Year
Aetna to donate $10,000 to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in company's honor
RICHFIELD, Ohio, October 27, 2004 — Leiden Cabinet Company, a third-generation family-owned small business in Twinsburg, Ohio, has been chosen as Aetna’s North Central Region Small Business of the Year for 2004. In recognition of Leiden Cabinet Company’s business achievements and commitment to their community, Aetna (NYSE: ΑET) will donate $10,000 on the company’s behalf to the Natural Areas Program at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The donation will be presented at a special luncheon today.
"Leiden Cabinet Company exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to its employees and commitment to the community that Aetna seeks to honor with its Small Business of the Year program," said William Berenson, Aetna’s general manager for small group in the north central region. "We asked our clients and brokers to tell us about exceptional local businesses. We received nominations from across the country. Each had a special story to tell. Leiden stood out for its generosity of spirit, and its success in transitioning the business from one generation to the next without sacrificing the values of its founding grandfather."
Nominated by Ken Jordan, an agent with the Britton Gallagher Agency, Leiden Cabinet Company was started in 1946 by Leo I. Leiden as a manufacturer of wood cabinets and fixtures. Today, owned and operated by the third generation of the Leiden family, the company focuses on engineering, manufacturing and delivering wood store fixtures for national retailers such as Panera Bread, General Nutrition and Gamestop, among others. Its recent relocation to larger facilities in Twinsburg, Ohio is expected to lead to continued growth.
Created to highlight the extraordinary strengths, achievements and community involvement of local small businesses, Aetna’s Small Business of the Year contest is open to organizations that currently offer an Aetna Small Group (ASG) health benefits plan. A panel of judges considers criteria including evidence of community involvement, a unique start-up story, skill in overcoming small business challenges, and remarkable growth and profitability. Companies are nominated by Aetna customers, non-profit organizations and licensed brokers and agents selling Aetna products. After Aetna named its 2004 regional honorees, each business then selected a charity to receive a donation from Aetna directly on their behalf.
Leiden Cabinet Company has directed Aetna’s $10,000 charitable donation to be made to the Natural Areas Restricted Fund at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Representing a variety of natural environments found in Northern Ohio, including hardwood forest, Lake Erie Island, fossil dune ridge, marsh, swamp and glacial wetland, each of the 26 natural areas managed by the museum has its own unique character, harboring one or more distinct biotic communities adapted to its particular soil, climate, vegetation and geological history. Together these areas represent an outstanding resource for learning more about the remarkable biodiversity present in northern Ohio.
"As a user of natural resources to manufacture our wood fixtures, we firmly believe that we must use our resources in a sustainable manner and preserve ecologically sensitive areas for future generations to enjoy," said Tom Leiden, President of the Leiden Cabinet Company, and a member of the board of trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. "These living ecosystems, remnants of our past, are living laboratories that researchers and students of all ages will be able to study and enjoy. Man’s influence on the natural world is so pervasive that we have changed the course of natural progressions. These areas must be preserved through stewardship in order to survive, but stewardship is expensive. That is why I am so honored to be able to direct these funds in their direction."
Aetna Small Group provides health and related benefits plans to meet the needs of companies with two* to 50 employees. Designed to provide choice, simplicity and affordability to small businesses, Aetna Small Group’s products include HMO, PPO, and HSA-compatible high deductible health plans, as well as dental, life and short-term disability products, prescription drug coverage and a broad network of participating providers. (* one employee in some states)
As one of the nation’s leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.4 million medical members, 11.4 million dental members, 8.1 million pharmacy members and 12.6 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 633,000 health care professionals, including over 377,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,866 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of June 30, 2004)
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