Family Business Conference raises $35,000 for FGCU scholarships
The Floridant/10300412

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Floridant -- The fourth annual Resnick-Wynn Family Business Conference raised $35,000 for student scholarships while shining a spotlight on Southwest Florida's thriving business community.

Proceeds from this year's event will support Florida Gulf Coast University students majoring in business or entrepreneurship who plan to launch or lead a family business. Since its inception, the Family Business Conference has raised $135,000 in scholarship funding.

The conference, held March 6 at FGCU, attracted more than 200 attendees and featured a theme of "Securing the Future: Building Resilient Family Business Strategies for a Changing Economy."

This year's keynote speaker was Jeremy J. Siegel, an economist, author and professor emeritus of finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"You know the conference is powerful when Steve Forbes himself joins virtually to ask Jeremy Siegel, our keynote speaker, for economic advice, which he did this year," said Michael Wynn, president of Sunshine Ace Hardware. "Florida is a pro-business state, and we are building a strong family business culture here in Southwest Florida that the nation is now noticing. The Family Business Conference is a premier event that has become fertile ground to exchange ideas and share best practices so all family business leaders can experience success."

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Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, was keynote speaker at the inaugural conference in 2022, followed by former Hasbro Chairman and CEO Alan Hassenfeld in 2023, and Loews Corporation Co-chair and New York Giants Co-owner Jonathan M. Tisch in 2024.

The fifth annual Family Business Conference will be held Feb. 20, 2026, at FGCU and feature Jim Perdue as keynote speaker. Perdue has been chairman and advertising spokesman for Perdue Farms since 1991, and is the third-generation leader of the family-owned poultry company founded in 1920.

"The fact that we continue drawing these national and international executives to our conference is a testament to our business culture in Southwest Florida," said Billie Resnick, who along with her husband, John, are principals of The Resnick Group. "Rather than create rivalries or competitions within our business community, we are creating synergy and cohesion because a stronger regional economy benefits all of us."

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Founding Steering Committee members for the Family Business Conference include David Hoffmann, chairman of the Hoffmann Family of Companies; Shelly Stayer, co-owner and board chair for Johnsonville Sausage; and Blake Gable, CEO of Barron Collier Companies.

The 2025 event sponsors were Fifth Avenue Family Office, The Resnick Group, Sunshine Ace Hardware, Stock Development, Macchia Family Foundation, Gamma Tech Services, McDonald & Osborne, Corporate Dimensions, Gulf Coast Business Bank, Preferred Travel & Company and Lomar Machine & Tool.