The Burlington Free Press
By Stacey Chase
March 31, 1999
Press Staff Writer
Tubbs president earns Small Business honor
The president of Tubbs Snowshoe Co. in Stowe, Edward Kiniry, has been named Vermont's Small Business Person of the Year for being "daring, creative and innovative" in building his business into a nationally recognized snowshoe manufacturer with 85 employees and $10 million in annual sales.
For any single individual to be singled out for the success of the company is incorrect. It's embarrassing," Kiniry said. "I feel that it is a significant honor, reflective of the success the organization has achieved and, in accepting this award, I do so on be-half of all Tubbs employees."
Kiniry is among a select group of small business persons - one from each state - chosen for the award by the U.S. Small Business Administration, a federal program de- signed to help small businesses start and grow.
The winners will be honored by President Clinton and the SBA at national ceremonies in Washington, D.C., the week of May 23-29. In addition, an afternoon "high tea" reception will be held in Kiniry's honor at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe on June 9.
"Tubbs Snowshoes is a classic Vermont small business success story,” said Patrick McGowan, the SBA's regional administrator for New England. "Ed Kiniry is an entrepreneur in the true sense of the word - daring, creative and innovative."
Kiniry, 54, is a Springfield native who led a group of investors in 1987 in the acquisition of the Tubbs Snowshoe Co., which was founded in 1906 in Norway, Maine. In 1987, Tubbs was a division of Vermont Tubbs Inc. of Brandon, a furniture maker, and had eight employees and $120,000 in sales.
"I started with an old, high-quality Vermont product and was fortunate enough to attract hardworking people with outdoor recreational product knowledge who embraced my vision," Kiniry said.
Under Kiniry's management, Tubbs SnowShoes has become the leading manufacturer of lightweight aluminum, traditional wood and molded plastic snowshoes in North America.
The company sells its snowshoes to specialty outdoor and ski and sporting goods retailers, as well as through mail order and Internet markets throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
The small business persons of the year were judged on seven basic criteria: staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past financial reports, development of an innovative product or service, response to adversity and evidence of contributions to community-oriented projects.
"Ed's pride in his business, his employees and his product have made him a well-respected leader in Vermont's small business community, said Ken Silvia, Vermont's SBA director. "We are fortunate to have entrepreneurs of his caliber here in the Green Mountain State."