Peoples Services, Inc. received the SBA’s Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year Award on May 14. The award, given to a family-owned and operated business passed from one generation to the next – and that has at least a 15-year track record – was presented at Peoples' headquarters, 2207 Kimball Road in Canton, by SBA District Director Gil Goldberg.

Peoples, operating over 4.5 million square feet of public and contract warehouse space, prevailed as both the Cleveland district and SBA’s Midwest region award winner.  "There are three generations of hard work that have gone into making what Peoples Services is today, and our success is based on some of the core values that were established when my grandfather (Ray Sibila) started Sibila Trucking back in 1936,” said Doug Sibila, the company's president and chief executive officer. “It means a lot to the family to get this recognition for our work to strengthen other family-owned businesses in the community.” Peoples Services traces its roots to 1914 when it operated in Massillon as a storage and furniture moving company. In 1947, Ray Sibila, owner of Sibila Trucking, bought Peoples Cartage. The company branched into public warehousing in the late 1960s. In 1992 they incorporated as Peoples Services and moved their headquarters to Canton, Ohio. The company now has warehousing services available in West Virginia, Virginia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

The Butland award judges a small business on success as measured by sales and profits; increased employment opportunities for both family and non-family members; demonstrated potential for long-term business and economic growth; and voluntary efforts to strengthen family-owned businesses within the community. Once selected as the Cleveland District’s winner, Peoples’ nomination package was sent to SBA’s Midwest region office where the company competed against award winners from the Columbus, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin districts.

“It is apparent that the Sibila family has made a huge difference in Canton and the surrounding community,” said SBA District Director Gil Goldberg. “We are proud to give this award to families like the Sibilas. They earned this honor for their service to other small and family-owned businesses, as well as their ability to weather the difficult economic times.”