Jones Receives Prestigious 2023 Wisconsin Business Achievement Award

Jones Dairy Farm is the proud recipient of the ninth annual Wisconsin Business Achievement Award presented by the Flowers Family Foundation.

The annual award recognizes recipients for their positive impact on the Wisconsin economy and may be granted to an individual, partnership, corporation, association, industry, and educational institution. Jones Dairy Farm was chosen by a selection panel consisting of former Governor Tommy Thompson, Tim Christen, the former Chairman and CEO and current Chairman Emeritus of Baker Tilly, and Allysia Finley, a Wall Street Journal Editor.

“As the latest Wisconsin Business Achievement Award winner, we’re proud to welcome Jones Dairy Farm to this select group of exemplary companies that have used their success to support the Wisconsin economy and their local communities,” said June Bunting, President, Flowers Family Foundation. “We believe that all of our past winners are special and true beneficiaries of the free enterprise system.”

The award also comes with a $75,000 donation for a Wisconsin-based charity of the winner’s choice. Jones Dairy Farm designated the award money to Feed Your Soul, a Fort Atkinson-based outreach program founded in 2008 that provides free, weekly meals to the Fort Atkinson community. Over the past 15 years, Feed Your Soul has served more than 80,000 meals at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Atkinson. Led by Jennifer and Rick Lowry, Feed Your Soul has plans to expand the program to Janesville in 2024, with construction of a commercial kitchen at Faith Community Church.

“The donation from the Flowers Family Foundation is a game-changer as we look to impact more people throughout the community,” said Rick Lowry, the immediate past president of Jones Dairy Farm. Said Jennifer Lowry, “We try and think of everything to make this an enjoyable and stress-free experience each week. The job of caring for those in need, whether it’s a physical hunger, loneliness, financial need, feeling part of a group and getting support from others, is everyone’s responsibility.”

The Flowers Family Foundation was created and funded by Rockne and JoAnne Flowers in 1998 with the focus on supporting charitable organizations and causes. Rock, JoAnne and the Flowers Family Foundation credit the free enterprise system for enabling America’s unparalleled prosperity and providing a ladder for entrepreneurs to climb from modest beginnings to achieve their goals. The Flowers Foundation gratefully gives back and encourages others to strive for their self-determined goals.

“We are inspired by Rock Flowers’ vision of sharing the benefits of the free enterprise system here in Wisconsin,” said Cole Jones, 6th generation Jones family member. “Over the past 185 years, seven generations of Jones family members have lived and worked in Fort Atkinson. We don’t plan for that to change. We are deeply committed to this community, with both capital investments in the business and philanthropic initiatives to improve the lives of area residents. It is a great honor to be recognized by the Flowers Family Foundation with the Wisconsin Business Achievement Award.”

Previous Wisconsin Business Achievement Award winners have included Boldt Company (2022), Sargento Foods (2021), Stoughton Trailers (2019), Kwik Trip (2018), The Fireside Theatre (2017), L.B. White Co. (2016), OEM Fabricators Inc. (2015) and Kapco Metal Stamping (2014). There was no recipient in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Said Jones Dairy Farm Chairman and CEO Philip Jones when accepting the award, “All those who’ve come before us to receive this honor were not about tooting their own horn but doing the right thing. So to have this opportunity to first be recognized, and then be able to pass along a very generous gift to Feed Your Soul, is just remarkable. We thank Rockne Flowers and the Flowers Family Foundation very much.”

To learn more information about the Flowers Family Foundation and the Wisconsin Business Achievement Award, visit flowersfamilyfoundation.com