Chapter 19Epilogue
Owen Family—October 4, 2014
Ali Owen
The Owen Family Assembly hosted a dinner this evening to celebrate Charlie and Owen Products. I miss Charlie—we all do—but we continue forward as a family. Such a lovely evening—the Family Assembly held the dinner in the old plant, the same place where Charlie's parents hosted a party to celebrate the company's twentieth anniversary back in 1968. I remember attending that party as Charlie's new fiancée, fresh from the West—it was my first exposure to the company's eastern plant, its first factory. Now, here we are, 66 years after John Owen founded the company. Just as in 1968, there were beautiful floral arrangements at each table showing off Owen Products' terracotta pots. On the tables were electronic tablets showing a series of images from the Owen Products' archives. Something old, but also something new: there were pictures of CombuSynth's new commercial lab and the solar-powered devices that can now be made on a commercial basis thanks to the catalysts they create. Christopher officially launched the company this spring, in part thanks to a $2 million investment by Owen Products. It all comes full circle.
The board attended the dinner. They have developed a much stronger partnership with the owners and management than when Charlie was living—then, the board mostly rubberstamped his requests.
There is a real management ...
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