Lafrance Hospitality wins community award

WESTPORT, MA. (October 21, 2009) - The Family Business Association announced that the Massachusetts Family Business Awards’ highly prestigious “Community Excellence Award” for 2009, goes to the Lafrance family of Lafrance Hospitality.

The award for the philanthropic/community business of the year was presented to the family at the annual awards dinner on October 15th, in Boston, Ma. The original nomination was made by Melinda L. Ailes, Sr. Management Counselor of the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network.

The family prides itself that family and non-family members of the company are community minded, serving on upwards of 30 community boards; and have chaired United Way and other community based capital campaigns, served as presidents of service clubs such as Rotary, Lions and Exchange and annually volunteer hundreds of hours to community projects. The “Community Cares Coupon Program”, created by Richard Lafrance and co-sponsored by Pepsi, WSAR and East Bay Newspapers, is in its twelfth year. It is estimated that during its’ lifetime, the Community Cares program has returned over $250,000 to local worthy charities. In addition to the above, the company annually provides numerous employee scholarships and provides financial support for many area charities. Major gifts have included St. Anne’s Hospital, Bishop Connolly High School and, most recently, a major gift to the United Way, which started the Lafrance Family Westport Services Fund.

“We are most proud of this particular award,” said Richard Lafrance, on learning of it. “Being recognized for the things we really care about is ‘icing on the cake!’” he went on to say.

Lafrance Hospitality Company owns Christian’s Catering and three restaurant/banquet facilities: White’s of Westport, Rachel’s Lakeside, and Bittersweet Farm Restaurant and Tavern; and owns or operates four Hampton Inns, in Westport, MA., Fairhaven, MA., Franklin, MA., and Dover, New Hampshire, the Hampton Inn & Suites of Plymouth, MA., as well as the Comfort Inn & Suites of Dover, New Hampshire, and the just-opened Comfort Inn & Suites of Farmington/Wilton, Maine. The company also just opened a Homewood Suites (by Hilton), in Dover, New Hampshire. Additionally, a Fairfield Inn & Suites is in the construction stage in New Bedford, MA.