Perhaps there is no better time to reflect on the success and experiences of a business year than at the end of it. In our case, it has been a very busy 2018 at Three Brothers Bakery. We are extremely grateful for what this year has brought us both professionally and personally. We wanted to share a few brief snapshots of what this year has meant to our bakery family. Happy New Year!
January
Though Mardi Gras fell on Tuesday February 13 of this year, at Three Brothers Bakery we usually celebrate the event a little earlier. We all look forward to this annual party because the staff from the three stores is able to get together and catch up. For us it is an occasion where we can give thanks for the previous year’s successes and reflect on the upcoming year’s events.
This year we had Cavatore’s, a legendary Italian restaurant here in Houston cater our event. Not only did all of us eat well, but we enjoyed the leftovers for days after!
February
We began the month with the crew and stars of Buzzfeed’s Worth It. It featured our Pumpecapple Piecake.
In February, Janice attended the first ever Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Business Alumni Summit in Washington D.C. The event attended by over 3000 people was a chance for small business owners from around the country to get together, share ideas, and advice. Janice was selected to sit at a round table discussion next to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. During the meeting the challenges of running a small business were discussed with law and policy makers.
The Texas Delegation then took the opportunity to travel to Capitol Hill to hear from senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. She also met with her Congressional representative which at the time was John Culberson. Both Janice and husband Bobby took the opportunity to thank the congressman for his ongoing community support and helping our bakeries businesses grow. They also want to take a moment to express their gratitude for the congressman’s aid during hurricane Harvey rebuilding efforts.
Photo: Rep. John Culberson with constituent alumni from the Goldman Sachs 10000 Small businesses program and Heidi Cruz representing Goldman Sachs.
The Alumni summit was over Valentines Day. Checkout the flowers Bobby gave Janice.
March
March was wedding month here at the bakery. Two of our family members: Nicole who works in our office and Masuod who creates many of our baked delicacies, tied the knot. The ceremony which took place in Alabama was truly a beautiful event which united two wonderful people who we are proud to include in our Three Brothers family. Of course, we provided the cakes and sweets for the celebrations. All of us ate, danced, and ate some more well into the night! Mazel tov to Nicole and Masuod and best wishes for a long, happy and healthy life together filled with sweet memories.
April
Janice and Bobby with James Rivera, Associate Administrator of the SBA, and Linda McMahon, Administrator of the SBA
Bobby and Janice were awarded the 2018 SBA (Small Business Administration) Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery. The ceremony took place in Washington D.C. and they were presented the award by Linda McMahon, the SBA administrator. Throughout their second visit to the Capitol, Janice and Bobby met many new friends including representatives from VISA credit cards. They heard about the Three Brothers Bakery initiative: Shop Disaster Zones. The team at VISA said they were inspired and actually created a website (in a scant 4 months): visa.com/backtobusiness, which helps smaller companies located in federally declared disaster zones get back on their feet and well, get back to business. Kudos to VISA on a job well done!
May
Three Brothers Bakery was honored at the local SBA District awards luncheon. We were brought up on stage with the District Director Tim Jeffcoat to acknowledge our team’s efforts in getting back to business after the hurricane. Another highlight of the SBA awards was hearing from Johnny Carrabba. His family-owned Italian grill restaurants, Carrabba’s are legendary in Houston.
May also brought our own 69th anniversary!
July
At the height of the summer brought the most memorable event of the entire year. Bobby and Janice’s youngest son, Josh, married his longtime love, Alyssa Capin. It was a beautiful display of commitment and joy. We now have another Mrs. Jucker in the family! Congratulations to the happy couple.
October
With arrival of autumn, Janice and Bobby attended the ICIC (Initiative for a Competitive Inner City) 20th anniversary conference in Boston. Janice sits on the inaugural Advisory Board of ICAN (Inner City Alumni Network).
She also graduated from the SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) Emerging Leaders program here in Houston which was an opportunity to work with other like-minded small businesses and put together a growth plan for the next few years for our businesses.
Photo: Graduation presentation with our facilitator Yusef Mohammed, owner of American Business Television Network and Tim Jeffcoat, District Director of the SBA.
And with our whole cohort
November
November marked the return to Washington for Janice and Bobby. Janice was a part of an armchair interview at the Bloomberg NEXT 2018 conference with David Simon, who is the senior vice-president of Global Small Business for VISA. The purpose of the event was to discuss the digital transformation of a 70 year old bakery. The interview covered VISA’s new report, the Digital Transformation of SMBs (http://usa.visa.com/run-your-business/small-business-tools/small-business/digital-transformation.html) and talk a little about their new Back To Business program.
Later that day in Washington, Janice and Bobby made a trip up to Capitol Hill to do a little bit of lobbying for small businesses and disaster assistance with the folks in Congressman Kevin Brady’s office.
December
We marched again in the 20th annual Deck the Halls Parade which was created by Ember Mandel and family. It was a time for some of us from Three Brothers Bakery to take a couple of hours and enjoy the holiday season with the neighborhood.
But most importantly, December will always be our busiest season as our family feels honored to help make special memories for your family.
In the New Year
As 2019 rolls in we’re looking forward to our annual holiday party, not to mention traveling to Austin to visit our state legislators and getting to know our newly-elected member of Congress: Lizzie Fletcher.
Oh, and let’s not forget, we’re going to be celebrating our 70th anniversary on May 8, 2019. More to come on that special day.
We are looking forward to being a part of your 2019 and wish you a very happy and sweet New Year!