FREEPORT – White Rock Distilleries of Lewiston and Paricon Inc. of South Paris were named the 2004 recipients of Gannett Family Business of the Year Awards at the annual awards dinner held Tuesday in Freeport.

White Rock Distilleries was named the winner in the large business category – 50 or more employees – while Paricon won in the small business category.

Direct Mail of Maine, headquartered in Scarborough, was presented with the honorable mention award.

The awards ceremony is a program of the Institute for Family-Owned Business, a non-profit organization based at the University of Southern Maine that was established in 1995 to support family-owned businesses in Maine. The Gannett Family Business of the Year Awards were established in 1999 to recognize family businesses that demonstrate creativity in ensuring their company’s vitality, while maintaining ties with their communities and stakeholders.

White Rock Distilleries is a leading manufacturer and importer of fine spirits and liquors. The Coulombe family has built the company into a major industry force through expansion and development of new technologies. Six family members of the second and third generations are involved in the business. They employ 197 full-time equivalent employees who manufacture and distribute 159 different liquor products throughout the country, the Caribbean, Japan, Europe and Canada.

Paricon is a marketing and sales company servicing the wholesale and retail sporting goods and toy markets. It has five full-time employees, with five members of the Morton family involved in direct operations. Although the company has been in business since 1991, the family roots in the retail sporting goods and toy business date back four generations to 1861.

Direct Mail of Maine has 65 full-time equivalent employees with three members of the Cloutier family involved in direct operations. The business offers nationwide direct marketing services, including data services, direct mail and statement management fulfillment.

The awards were announced by Maddy Corson, former chairman of Guy Gannett Communications, and a member of USM’s Institute for Family-Owned Business Advisory.

Nominations are solicited statewide and evaluated by a panel of judges. The recipients are not announced until the evening of the awards presentations.

Bush Brothers & Co. Chairman and CEO Jim Ethier was the keynote speaker. The family-owned company, which was founded in 1908, is best known for its baked beans cooked using a secret family recipe. The company is based in Knoxville, Tenn.

Family-owned businesses represent approximately 90 percent of all businesses in Maine, yet less than 30 percent survive to the second generation and only 13 percent make it to the third generation.

The Institute for Family-Owned Business sponsors a range of seminars and workshops to help companies address such issues as compensation, communication, leadership development and succession planning. For more information, call 780-5935, or visit http://www.usm.maine.edu/ifob/