DETROIT'S ONLY EXECUTIVE C EF STEWART FOX JR

Hard
Working

Avalon Breads
gains honors.

Jackie Victor

A

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18

May 27 • 2010

Ann Perrault

valon International
Breads at 422 W. Willis in
Detroit received an award
in May from the Boston-based
Initiative for A Competitive Inner
City after being named one of the
top 100 inner-city businesses in the
country.
"We were overcome with pride
and sentiment as we sat in the
ballroom at the Boston Convention
Center with thousands of others,
watching a video about the bakery
(one of 10 businesses featured on
film)," said Avalon owners Jackie
Victor and Ann Perrault in a state-
ment.
"We were humbled as we spent
the day with the other 99 entre-
preneurs at Harvard Business
School, learning about recruitment,
marketing and managing a diverse
workforce. We were inspired as we
heard the stories of other business-
es in New Orleans, San Francisco,
Boston and Dallas and throughout
the country"
Avalon is one of the smallest
businesses selected ($1.7 million
in sales in 2008) and not one of
the fastest growing (its standard
growth rate is 55 percent; the top
winner, Total Team Construction
Services in Sacramento, boasted
3,290 percent).
The ratio of employees to income
is one of the highest (44 employ-
ees for $1.7 million in revenue
compared to 19 employees for $9
million in revenue by the No. 1
business).
Avalon is the largest organic
wheat purchaser in Michigan, sup-
porting organic wheat farmers in
Montana and the wheat mill in
Western Michigan.
On June 4, Avalon will celebrate
its 14th anniversary. n