Velvet Ice Cream said it was among the first class of inductees to the new Central Ohio Family Business Hall of Fame, launched this year to mark the 20th anniversary of the Conway Center for Family Business. A resource for education and programming dedicated to the success of family-owned businesses, the center celebrated its 20-year milestone by inducting 20 of the region’s most successful family businesses as the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.

“We are so honored to be inducted into the Central Ohio Family Business Hall of Fame with 19 of central Ohio’s most distinguished Companies,” said Joanne Dager, Velvet Ice Cream vice president, who serves on the center’s board of directors. “Our involvement in the Center for Family Business has played a key role in Velvet Ice Cream’s success, especially as we transitioned management from the third generation of Dagers to the fourth generation of our family. It’s important to us to help share the center’s wealth of resources to other family businesses.”

The Center for Family Business celebrates the successes of family-owned businesses at its annual awards program and offers ongoing peer group opportunities for next-generation leaders, family business leaders, women family business owners and others, the company said. The organization includes 200 family-owned businesses from Central Ohio, employing more than 35,000 individuals in total. Hall of Fame inductees are family-owned businesses with a legacy of success. Each of these companies has successfully transitioned to the second generation or beyond. All those being inducted have been members of or have supported the center.

2018 marks 104 years of business for Velvet Ice Cream. Founded in 1914 by Joseph Dager, four generations of Dagers have since run the company, which is located in Utica, Ohio. Still family-owned and operated, the company produces and distributes more than 5 million gallons of ice cream every year from its headquarters on the grounds of Ye Olde Mill. Ye Olde Mill also houses an ice cream and milling museum, a restaurant, playground, picnic area and catch-and-release fish pond, Velvet Ice Cream noted.