Eugene Freedman

Eugene Freedman

Infobox Person
name = Eugene Freedman



image_size = 150
caption =
birth_date = March 9, 1925
birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA
death_date = February 19, 2008
death_place= Maui, Hawaii USA
occupation = Businessman (Entrepreneur)

Eugene Freedman (Mar. 9, 1925 ~ Feb. 19, 2008) (a.k.a. Gene Freedman, Gene-san) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is widely known as the founder of the Enesco Corporation, the world-wide distributor or Precious Moments porcelain figurines between 1997 and 2005.

Born in Philadelphia, Freedman grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Northwestern University and California Institute of Technology. He received his Navy commission at University of Notre Dame and is a World War II veteran.

Career

He began his career in 1947 as a salesman for a Milwaukee based gift and novelty company under his own name, Eugene Freedman, Co. Several years later, it became the Freedman-Mathews Corporation . He resigned in 1958 to become one of the founders of Enesco Imports , a subsidiary of N. Shure, Co., one of the largest and oldest general merchandise catalog companies in Chicago. When N. Shure was sold to Butler Brothers in 1967, Freedman became president and CEO of this subsidiary, renamed "Enesco Corporation. The company is sold three more times, ending up under Stanhome, Inc. in 1983. In 1998, the Enesco takes over Stanhome's assets, but Freedman steps down as president and CEO - yet he remains active in the corporate workings of the company. Thus the company presented him with the title of "Founding Chairman". By the time he left the company in March of 2005, Enesco had become Enesco Group, Inc"', a global leader in gift and collectibles with offices in the UK, Hong Kong, and markets in South America.

Freedman is credited with the success of the Precious Moments gift and collectibles.

Retirement

Even after retirement Freedman continued to maintain a presence in the industry. He served as “Ambassador of Goodwill” for Precious Moments Inc. when that company took ownership of the Precious Moments figurine line, and also lent a hand to gift vendor Starlite Originals, which produced a line of collectibles, Elisa's Safari, named in honor of Freedman’s granddaughter.

Philanthropy

With his success, Freedman worked with Easter Seals, and served on the national board of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Freedman’s philanthropic endeavors earned him well-deserved recognition. He received the Gift for Life’s Chuck Yancy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for his efforts to fight AIDS, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America's Herbert Hoover Humanitarian award in 2004, and the Easter Seals National Philanthropist of the Year award in 2005. Freedman was also honored with the Congressional Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and a special recognition award from the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED), among many other awards.

Freedman died on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 in Maui, Hawaii, where he had a second home. In lieu of flowers, the Freedman family requested donations be made in memory of Freedman to either the Boys and Girls Clubs of America or Easter Seals.

ources

* [http://www.enesco.com/imageservlet?webImageName=Gene_TRIBUTE.pdf Eugene Freedman - Chairman Emeritus and Friend to All]
* [http://www.heartwood-collectibles.com/eugene_freedman.htm Cherry Lane Keepsakes - Eugene Freedman]
* [http://www.neco.org/awards/recipients/efreedman.html NECO Inc. - Eugene Freedman]
* [http://www.giftsanddec.com/article/CA6534585.html Eugene Freedman, 82, Was Enesco Founding Chair]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eugene Field Elementary School — is an elementary school in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA.The most notable student who attended the school is Hillary Rodham Clinton, who went there in the 1950s and later to Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School. [ Jeri Freedman, Hillary Rodham Clinton:… …   Wikipedia

  • Eugene Commins — Eugene D. Commins (* 1. Juli 1932 in New York City) ist ein US amerikanischer Physiker. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Werk 2 Schriften 3 Literatur 4 Weblinks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Michael Freedman — Not to be confused with Mikhail Fridman. Michael Freedman Michael Freedman in 2010 Born …   Wikipedia

  • Benjamin H. Freedman — Benjamin Harrison [ [http://debs.indstate.edu/u588n4 1954.pdf House Committee on un American activities, pg 17] , calling him Benjamin Harrison Freedman ... of 960 Park Avenue ] Freedman, (1890 ndash; May 1984) [Social Security Death Index: born… …   Wikipedia

  • Harold Eugene Edgerton — Born April 6, 1903 (1903 04 06) Fremont, Nebraska Died …   Wikipedia

  • Friedman — Friedman, Friedmann, and Freedman are common surnames. They may refer to:In music * Avraham Fried, Jewish composer and musical entertainer, also known as Avraham Friedman * Dean Friedman, singer songwriter * Debbie Friedman, musician * Gary… …   Wikipedia

  • Enesco — Infobox Company logo= company name = Enesco, LLC company type = Corporation foundation = 1967 location = Itasca, IL key people = Leonard A. Campanaro (Chairman), Basil Elliott (President/CEO), Marie Meisenbach Graul (Executive VP/CFO) industry =… …   Wikipedia

  • Shuhei Fujioka — Infobox Person name= Shuhei Fujioka caption= Promotional photo ca. 2003 birth date=Dec 1950 birth place=Nagoya, Japan occupation= Master SculptorShuhei Fujioka (藤岡周平 ふじおか しゅうへい), born 1950 in Nagoya, Japan, is a sculptor famous for his work on… …   Wikipedia

  • Dan Muller — aka Daniel Cody Muller (1889–1976), artist, illustrator and writer of the American West; Muller was born in Choteau, Montana, October 11, 1889 to Carl and Augusta Muller. Muller s early years are known only from the artist s own recollections of… …   Wikipedia

  • Thomas Kinkade — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = Thomas Kinkade imagesize = 220px caption = Kinkade with a copy of his painting Heading Home presented to the USO in October 2005. birthname = birthdate = 1958 location = Sacramento, California deathdate =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”