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The 2000 WBO Nellie Cashman

Women Business Owners congratulates
2000 Nellie Cashman Woman Business Owner of the Year:


Diane Symms
Lombardi's Cucina

Distinguished Finalists:
Fran Bigelow
Fran's Chocolatse, Ltd.
Tanya Fraioli
Reprographics Northwest
Karen Mask
KJM & Associates
Janet Tupper
Fiddlehead, Inc.

 

Fran BigelowFran Bigelow
Fran's Chocolates, Ltd.

Fran Bigelow, a widely recognized expert in the art of chocolate creations, built her business the old fashioned way -in her own kitchen. Fran, a Seattle native and wife and mother of two, became fascinated with cooking desserts in the early 1970's. Studying under the tutelage of Josephine Araldo, a 1921 graduate of the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Fran began the process of perfecting her art of creating exquisite desserts by opening her first shop in 1 982. By 1998, she had expanded into two luxurious European style chocolate salons.

With her specialty chocolates available throughout the United States, Fran has managed to achieve her dream-creating a product with universal appeal. Using the finest European and Venezuelan chocolates, Fran has captured the sweet tooth of the dessert market. She was named the best Chocolatier in America by some of the most well known food publications in the U. S., including "The Book of Chocolate".

Nellie Cashman 2000 Winner and Finalists

Tanya FraioliTanya Fraioli
Reprographics Northwest

Tanya Fraioli, CEO of Reprographics Northwest, moved back to Seattle in 1995, at the age of 26, to reclaim her father's former company. Plagued with a variety of business problems, Tanya began rebuilding the troubled company from the ground up; today, she oversees 76 employees and RNW has expanded into 3 locations.

RNW has been voted the best place to work by Washington CEO magazine, ranked 59th by INC magazine for fastest growing inner-city business in the nation and won Tanya the SBA Small Business Person of the year award.

She has used her business education background and considerable customer service skills well, including a stint in Germany that all owed her to put her to use her fluency in the German language as well as develop new markets in the Far East and Russia. Her varied background has enabled RNW to become a leader in the field of large-scale architectural and engineering print projects.

Tanya is also a new mother and credits her parents and husband for their unwavering support of her choice to take a fledging company and turn it into a 21st century success.

Nellie Cashman 2000 Winner and Finalists

karen MaskKaren J. Mask
KJM & Associates

Karen J. Mask, owner and president of KJM & Associates, began her career with a M.S. in Economics from the University of Washington. After serving as Vice President and General Manager of Xebek, Inc., Karen formed KJM, a project and construction management firm, and has been the point of contact on several rail projects, including the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Light Rail Project, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Downtown Seattle Transit Project.

As president of KJM, Karen's responsibilities include developing initial project plans and schedules, strategic planning and overall management. She oversees budgeting, operations, marketing, personnel, and forecasting growth expansions. Her past experience includes teaching project management classes at public institutions and private companies.

For over 26 years, Karen has fine tuned her skills and applied them to the Seattle area which, in 1997, earned her the prestigious award of Department of Transportation's Outstanding Woman Owned Business of the Year.

Nellie Cashman 2000 Winner and Finalists

Diane Symms
Lombardi's Cucina

Diane Symms, owner of Lombardi's Cucina, has been a restaurant owner for 28 years in the Seattle area. In the early 1970's, Diane began a small sandwich shop which blossomed into a concession trailer. She traveled the summer festival circuit while raising 2 small children and eventually expanded into the food industry wholeheartedly with her first full-service Italian restaurant.

Diane presently owns three Italian restaurants. Her annual sales generate more than $4.5 million dollars and she oversees day to day operations, which include the livelihood of over 120 employees. In her spare time, she owns and manages the commercial property of her original restaurant site.

With her management training background, Diane has built a formidable and profitable business which has earned her several awards including Restaurateur of the Year in 1998 and Seattle Mayor's Small Business of the Year in 1990. She is also active in Republican fundraising events and served as President of the Washington Restaurant Association from 1996 to 1998.

Nellie Cashman 2000 Winner and Finalists

Janet M. Tupper
Fiddlehead, Inc.

Janet Tupper is the founder and president of Fiddlehead, Inc., a merchandising company with locations in Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, and New York. Founded in 1990, Fiddlehead serves companies primarily in the pharmaceutical, telecom, entertainment, and tech/e-commerce fields with revenues exceeding $1 billion. The wholesale division, launched in May 2000, designs and manufactures fashion-forward desk accessories and paper products . Her clients include 20th Century Fox, Voicestream, Hallmark, Earthlink, and Crate & Barrel.

Her extensive background in business management has honed Janet's leadership skills. This, in turn, has allowed her to expand into more philanthropic areas such as the Seattle Art Museum Family Advisory Committee, the Young Presidents' Organization and St. Joseph's Auction Committee.

She and her husband, Greg, a broker with Dain Rauscher are busy raising an 8- year-old daughter while Janet continues to lead Fiddlehead into new and exciting avenues of merchandising.

Photo Credits: Kate Baldwin, Kate Baldwin Photography. Email: kate@katebphoto.com.

Nellie Cashman 2000 Winner and Finalists

 

 

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