Retail Observer

JANUARY 2017 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 41 S. DAVID FEIR HUMANITARIAN AWARD HONOREES Gene Chaiken and Warren Chaiken Gene Chaiken serves as Chairman and his son, Warren Chaiken, serves as president and CEO of Almo Corporation, a distribution company founded in 1946 by Gene's father-in-law, Morris Green. Still located in Philadelphia, Almo Corporation is a billion dollar privately-held distributor, operating ten locations throughout the United States. Almo is a third-generation family business. Gene joined the company in 1963 and succeeded his father-in-law as chairman, president and CEO in 1973. Warren succeeded Gene as president in 2004 and as CEO in 2014. Through a combination of synergistic internal growth and acquisitions, the Chaikens' have grown the company from a single storefront location in Olde City, Philadelphia into the largest appliance, electronics, professional audio/ video, and housewares distributor in the country. Almo's guiding principle of making its employees a top priority has been a driving force in the company's success. Almo has been named one of 'Philadelphia's Best Places to Work' for the last four consecutive years. Gene and his wife Roslyn have built an impressive philanthropic legacy centered on education: • Roz & Gene, Sheldon & Gail Chaiken endowed the Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies at Penn State. • Gene & Roz Chaiken Endowment for the Study of the Holocaust at Penn State • Chaiken Family Trustee Scholarship in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State (currently 80 scholarships awarded annually). Gene was the vice chairman of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine for over 23 years where he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree, and he received the Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013. Warren holds a seat on the Board of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and was recognized as one of Dealerscope Magazine's '40 Executives Under 40' and is a SmartCEO 2016 Family Business Awards honoree. Gene, Warren and the company have collected a host of industry and vendor honors including Gene's induction into the Dealerscope magazine 'Hall of Fame', the National Electronic Distributor Association Gail S. Carter Award and numerous 'Distributor of the Year' awards. The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all." Now the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency, ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all. For additional information please contact Beth Katznelson, director of corporate development-Anti-Defamation League. BKatznelson@adl.org or visit www.adl.org. RO Warren Chaiken, Bill Crutchfield, and Gene Chaiken

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