We feel that our 14 year membership in the UMass Family Business Center has been a tremendous asset to our family. It has strengthened all aspects of our business, especially our personal relationship as a family. It has helped keep our expectations high and satisfies our desire to learn new business and family management ideas. It has brought us sustained changes in our fast moving industry and gave to us lifelong friendships. Our greatest challenge is to use and implement the ideas and good sense we've received from the excellent variety of program speakers this organization brings to us. We look forward to an awesome '08.

My family in business has transitioned through many, many stages and phases. Throughout the years, the UMass Family Business Center and its director, Ira Bryck, have been a part of them all. The best way I can describe what this organization does for us is to simply say that it validates us. It validates that we are not alone and that none of our experiences–good or bad–are in vain. The environment at the forums is one of genuine openness and honesty about the common goals and challenges of family business. Large or small, new or well established, there is always something to learn. This is NOT a free-for-all business card swap. This is an oasis of valuable business resources and absolutely priceless relationships. This is beyond typical networking. I would be more than happy to speak to anyone considering membership.

Ira Bryck's Family Business Center is much more than it's name implies. It's a business to business network that is truly a network, with communications to and from many businesses on many levels. It's provided me with personal and business benefits - both from the formal programs, as well as the informal friendships I've developed over the years. You can't go to one meeting and expect to earn your membership fee back, but when you look over the year, it's an expense that is easily justified.

I joined the UMass Family Business Center several years ago to alleviate the stress and isolation I felt as a business owner. So happens, I am married to my business partner, which -for anyone- has its own set of challenges, including the need to look outside the family for some vital business wisdom. Since joining, I have more confidence in my inner wisdom, I have a 'family' that understands the challenges that I face, and I have access to centuries of wisdom and experience. Now, I experience less stress, have great new friends, and a better marriage!

The thing that’s most amazing to me about the UMass Family Business Center is just how many smart people belong. I’ve been in a lot of professional organizations in Western Mass, and none of them have been able help me grow as a businessowner as well as the UMass Family Business Center. I don't know if smart people join the center, or if joining makes you smarter, but I always leave these events feeling inspired and humbled and energized, all at the same time.

The UMass Family Business Center gives us a chance to really learn from one another like no other organization we have belonged to and in a no-holds-barred atmosphere. If you are serious about your business and family life and how they relate, whether you’re a small mom & pop or a larger family business, you need to belong. Call Ira and you won't regret it.

On behalf of my family, I want to thank you for the all the guidance, insight, and assistance provided by the UMass Amherst Family Business Center. It is truly a service to companies like ours going through the generational transition. We've become a much more sophisticated and savvy business family. Our enhanced understanding of the unique dynamics of a family business helped us to successfully navigate the rocky waters of transition (both management and ownership). Thanks also for the friendship and support you provided me personally.

The UMass Amherst Family Business Center gives me the chance to escape from my bottomless in-box, ringing phones, employee dilemmas, production problems and all-too-frequent "fires," to a place where I can listen to amazing guest speakers and chat with fellow family business owners about important issues and hot topics in a casual environment. This forum - filled with colleagues who have been in my shoes - enables me to make sound business decisions and gain a big picture view. Armed with insight from the meetings and other available resources -- I can really take control; especially of those ugly business issues that would have otherwise been put off until it is just too late.

The Family Business Center is important in our company strategy…the seminars and speakers have provided information that you can't put a price tag on. The FBC provides great educational resources and networking opportunities. When you're a small, family business it's critical to know you don't have to operate as island, and there is a support group that exists for family businesses.

We were quite fortunate to have been exposed to Ira Bryck and the UMass Amherst Family Business Center early in the succession planning process. The program addresses not only the important financial and business issues, but also delicate family relationship issues which are not often brought up because of time constraints. The meetings we attend allow us to listen and evaluate each other members' situations, and feelings, while relating them to our own family matters. Overall, the center has provided us with guidance, and a forum to discuss and deal with the delicate issues that our family encounters during this generation change.

What can I say, but You the Man!? You make the program what it is and it's just Super!

Ira Bryck captains a good ship and is always open to experiment with new methods to meet participant needs. Presentations are focused, stay within advertised time limits, and deliver what they promise. The tight rope between treating your business like a business and your family like a family is well walked as we listen and talk t each other and learn from the presenters and each other. This group is becoming to feel like a comfortable family in itself.

Rarely have I had the privilege of knowing and working with someone as creative, fun, brilliant and full of integrity as Ira Bryck. I have known Ira for about a dozen years, both professionally and personally. We have worked together on family business projects, and he hired me to speak at one of his family business forums. The consummate networker, Ira takes joy bringing people together from different places when he thinks they might both benefit. He's a terrific brainstormer, able to think outside any box of any dimensions. No one should hesitate to work with or miss the chance to get to know Ira Bryck!

“I've known Ira for more than 14 years, since he was hired to open and run the UMass Family Business Center and hired me to cover his first conference for his newsletter--and all the conferences since. Ira's work is always professional, he brings in very high quality speakers, puts together a newsletter that consistently wins accolades. His knowledge of family business issues is encylopedic. And he's a really nice guy who I'm proud to call friend.

I first collaborated with Ira when I spoke at his forum in the fall of 2007. In that experience and all my subsequent dealings with Ira, I have found him to be deeply committed to working with others to produce the best possible results for his members/clients. He is very personable, flexible, and willing to dialogue on any issue. His core values are making the project better and enhancing the professional relationship. A truly engaging professional to work with.

Ira Bryck is one of the most unique, thoughtful and innovative persons I've had the pleasure to work and associate with. As a peer, I look to Ira for ideas and inspiration. As a colleague, Ira is an example of how to champion the needs of the customer while not losing sight of running an effecient business. Finally, as a client, Ira delivers what is promised and routinely exceeds expectations.

I was very impressed by the candor with which the members shared information and ideas at the meeting last night. You've got a great group there. What a fabulous resource for family businesses. Makes me wish I had one of my own!!

The UMass Amherst Family Business Center does a great job in helping me expand my knowledge of important business practices. What a worthwhile investment!

In my 23 years of working with family business owners and attending conferences and seminars all over the country that cater to (or propose to cater to) the needs of family business', The UMass Amherst Family Business Center stands apart. There truly is no better venue and safer place for a family business, its members and non-family employees to come and address the issues they face to growing and prospering as a family business. You have created an entrepreneurial environment that is unique. Its value is generated both by the expertise of the speakers and the interaction of the members- successful family business' sharing their growing pains and success stories with other members. This is an invaluable educational experience that is not available in any 'how to' book. You have to be in the seats, involved and engaged to get the full benefits each and every month...and our membership does! And after Seven Years it's only gotten better. Hats off to you.

It's heartening to see so many entrepreneurs so willing to offer suggestions to colleagues looking for help on ways to expand their family businesses or to branch into other lines of business; especially when you consider that these are in many cases small businesses where entire families share in the success of the companies.

The center has provided our 4th generation funeral service firm with the tools to attract and retain family, to develop leaders, and a strong commitment by the next generation, and has helped in developing a strong business and personal relationship with the family. I recommend to anyone interested in fostering growth and passing the business on to the next generation to look to the UMass Amherst Family Business Center as a partner in your future planning.

The Family Business Center has been thought provoking! It gives us an opportunity to stand back and do strategic thinking.

Wow! How lucky we are to have a resource like this in Western Mass. Not only are we able to attend seminars and workshops by nationally recognized experts, but the Family Business Center also provides an opportunity to confidentially network with local people who know first-hand what it's like to be running a family business.

This is a great organization with a creative, innovative, and caring leader.

Every time I come to the UMass Amherst Family Business Center events it helps me understand where I've been and where my children are going with our business I founded fifty years ago.

Rarely have I had the privilege of knowing and working with someone as creative, fun, brilliant and full of integrity as Ira Bryck. I have known Ira for about a dozen years, both professionally and personally. We have worked together on family business projects, and he hired me to speak at one of his family business forums. The consummate networker, Ira takes joy bringing people together from different places when he thinks they might both benefit. He's a terrific brainstormer, able to think outside any box of any dimensions. No one should hesitate to work with or miss the chance to get to know Ira Bryck!

I'm writing this letter as a testimonial of my appreciation of the fine job that Ira Bryck has done to help resolve an extremely difficult and troubling impasse that myself and family members came to in our family business. After four grueling sessions we achieved the unimaginable: we heard each other's viewpoints and could respect one another again. Ira's approach of focusing on the business relationship, but hearing out some of the family pain was just right for us. In spite of some tumultuous moments, he mediated skillfully to keep us focused on our objectives and our points of agreement, while validating our disagreements. I highly recommend Ira to anyone who needs assistance in negotiating the emotionally charged task of reconciling family and business problems.

I am one of the fortunate entrepreneurs who has access to Ira Bryck's support, intelligence and business acumen. Bryck has an encyclopedic knowledge of business management and I leave every meeting with a new title to read and a new spin on my company. If you are serious about pursuing a successful enterprise, you would be wise to engage Ira Bryck as a trusted advisor and coach.

Thank you so very much for the meeting forum you created for us this morning. As was noted, we are all on board with our mission and do respect each other but the "business of business" has an influence on our everyday life both individually and collectively. You helped organize a discussion that was focused by our own concerns. I liked the way you took our responses to your questionnaire, categorized salient remarks, gave us individual time to read and think and then facilitated discussion that was meaningful to all of us and will, I know, focus our future actions. We all participated and spoke from the heart. Your summaries, thoughtful comments throughout and in general, your breadth of personal experience with family businesses were all so helpful.

Working with Ira was one of the best professional experiences my company and I could have had. There are many challenges (as well as rewards) working in a family business; and to that situation, Ira brought clarity, insight and perspective to the meeting he led. I would highly recommend working with Ira and the UMass Amherst Family Business Center! Every moment with him is time well spent.

Thank you so much for all of your help. You were more informative in that short time than anyone else that I have talked to in the past. The session was interesting and benefical.

We're pretty excited about using some of the tools and tactics you proposed today. As I'd hoped, talking with an objective (not family!) expert was just what we needed. You're a tremendous resource of knowledge and experience—I appreciate your willingness to share. I'm a big fan!

Ira provided for our family the opportunity to have fair, balanced discussions relative to family and business issues that would not have been possible without his guidance. He was instrumental in helping us get through various difficult issues in an most effective way. He has a great understanding of the dynamics of business families and dealing with the challenges they face.

Ira: it has been a pleasure utilizing your talents and real world experience as a consultant. You have kept us moving in a positive direction and helped us to expand our business. You have been the unbiased voice of reason when conflict arose and not burdened us with opinion but fact. I am sure that our business would still be open if we never made the mutual commitment between each other but it would not be prospering. You have definitely seen us with all of our warts exposed and not told us we are ugly !!! Balancing family and business is hard enough when it is not intertwined but once they coexist can become unbearable and it appears together we are making it less unbearable. Thanks for all your direction and wisdom.

Ira was able to help save our volatile family and family business from detonation. It takes a special person that can bridge two different generations and two different personalities.

Ira provided excellent advice and direction for us. Some things we didn't want to hear, but definitely needed to hear. He helped put us on a path forward instead of spinning our wheels.

Ira has facilitated some strategic planning sessions and worked with me and my son on personal and business planning. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience from working with many family businesses, and he's well read, so he always has recommendations on books to help improve most any family business situation. Ira can handle strong personalities and is great at asking strategic questions. I would highly recommend Ira for facilitation, conflict management and family business issues.

Ira has facilitated many roundtables for the clients of our incubator. He has also provided individualized consulting for a variety of business related issues. He is truly an expert in eliciting strategic thinking from business owners who are focused on day to day operations. He is also extremely effective in conflict management related issues. A pleasure to work with, he always delivers as promised.

I am deeply honored and proud both professionally and personally to write a recommendation for Ira Bryck. He is a forward thinking and progressive leader in the area of entrepreneurship with his main focus on family businesses. Ira consistently demonstrates a deep dedication to his family businesses, his colleagues, and his local and world communities. His integrity and sense of entrepreneurship is unquestionable. I salute him. His track record speaks for itself. Under the leadership of Ira, The UMass Family Business Center has soared to new heights evidenced by growth, respect and credibility he has earned from all business members, business advisors, and his local community. He focuses on ideas that motivate, grow and unite. Ira believes in building bridges to create economically vibrant companies and he believes in joining hands with all small businesses and the local community to elevate all through cooperation and common purpose. Strategic planning has long been an important part of Ira’s business career and the development and growth of the UMass Family Business Center. Over the many years, I have worked with Ira on numerous strategic planning sessions and business development sessions. His attention to details, his instantaneous follow up skills and his mind-set of deliberative thinking help with achieving forward thinking and proactive results that are attainable by the companies with flourishing and lasting results. I look forward to working with Ira for many years to come. I would be happy to provide additional comments upon request.

Thank you for contributing to the 2nd Annual "How To" Entrepreneurship Institute. The small business owners and entrepreneurs left energized and excited about the information they received. The "How to Govern, Communicate & Plan in Your Family Company" workshop that you led was especially informaitve, and you did an excellent job in presenting the subject matter in a palpable way.

Having grown up in a family business, Ira Bryck has a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in any family business enterprise, making him uniquely qualified to speak authoritatively on this complex—and emotionally charged—subject. For this reason, Mr. Bryck adds value to any educational program focusing on how not only to survive, but thrive in a family business environment."

We were pleased to have Ira Bryck as our after dinner keynote at the Paperboard Packaging Council’s Fall 2006 conference at Greenbrier Resort. His presentation, “More Crazy Than Busy: Business / Family Life Balance” hit the mark for our audience, many of whom were with spouses, and seeking – and finding- in his talk a strong mixture of entertainment and insight. Ira also facilitated a discussion the next morning, on the topic “How to Pass the Torch Without Getting Burned,” which our members appreciated as a valuable opportunity to discuss a vital subject with a knowledgeable expert.

I am delighted to have had Ira Bryck as a speaker on a number of occasions for our clients. The comments we receive each time he speaks are always very positive and enthusiastic! The last presentation that he did was so popular we had to limit the number of attendees. Ira engages his audience, is amusing and gets his point across very well. As a result, we have established a close working relationship with the Family Business Center (FBC) and with Ira. We consider Mr. Bryck a valued colleague and consult with him often for guidance and assistance!

Thank you for being our workshop presenter. We really appreciate having the chance to let people know about the family business center and to consider the issues that family businesses face. I just heard from two of the quieter participants that they had gotten just what they needed from the seminar, and I heard similar comments from others last night. I hope you'll consider repeating the program sometime next year.

Thank you so much for your session with the Connecticut Young Executives Organization. The feedback I received was very positive. I always enjoy the profound learning experience.

Thank you for participating in Friday's highly successful cranberry growers' business seminar, attended by over 140 growers! Your opening presentation on the challenges facing family businesses struck a responsive cord in the audience and set the tone for the rest of the day. Thanks again. You and your Center contribute significantly to our efforts as a land grant university!

Ira’s presentation was one of the highlights of the PCT Mergers & Acquisition Seminar, a two-day conference in which pest control industry professionals heard from a diverse speaker lineup that included PCOs (pest control owner/operators), consultants, brokers, franchisers and others. Ira’s presentation, titled “The Realities of Selling Your Business,” explored both the business aspects, as well as the emotional side, of selling one’s business. Reflecting on both his personal experiences — working for his family’s children’s wear business — and using his business acumen, Ira crafted an informative and thought-provoking presentation that was customized to our audience. Our audience was entertained, informed and felt comfortable exchanging experiences and asking Ira questions.

As a veteran magazine editor/publisher, I'm inherently hypercritical on graphics and content. But Related Matters blows me away. I receive many newsletters; your publication is in the stratosphere. Then, I read your summary of my workshop. Nobody has ever caught the essence of what I try to say better than you did in that piece. Thank you for the thought...and respect...that represents. You guys do nice work up there in Mass.

Your newsletter is the best—very well-written, useful stuff and funny. You can tell it's yours!

I am on the mailing list of several forums and I would say that Related Matters is among the best of the newsletters. Interesting, helpful and readable. I enjoy reading your editorial. I am also impressed with the breadth of the programs. You've done a great job of getting beyond the repetitious basics to some interesting business topics. Yours is obviously a market-driven program, which others can learn from. When I talk with other forum directors, I always suggest they call to pick your brain. Congratulations. I assume the success of the Center is a source of great satisfaction.

I read Related Matters and am impressed by the quality of the articles and the lively style and knowledge in Ira Bryck's columns.

I've read your publication with growing interest and enthusiasm over the past two years. As a small business/family business/UMass alum reader I have found many things I have enjoyed and benefited from. Thank you and keep up the great work.