An Enterprise family-owned business named Alabama Retail Association’s 2022 Gold Retailer of the Year received the award at a ceremony held at their Main Street store Wednesday.
Chad and Kendra Wester, owners of the Boll Weevil Soap Company, were surrounded by city and civic leaders, fellow retailers, family, and friends as they accepted the Gold Retailers of the Year in the less than $1 million award from Alabama Retail Association officers.
Rick Brown, president of the Alabama Retail Association, and Nancy King Dennis, association public relations director, presented the award to the Westers, who had been selected from a field of 55 nominees.
The 20-year-old Alabama Retailer of the Year awards honor retailers who have demonstrated growth, innovation and commitment to their respective communities said, Brown. “You are truly judged by your peers,” Brown told the Westers. “The judges are people just like you, retailers who open their doors every day.”
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Brown said the judges noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Westers promoted the value of their handmade soaps to prevent the spread of the virus and other infectious diseases. “They worked hard to increase awareness that the best way to fight the pandemic is a good old-fashioned hand washing, just like the Center for Disease Control—and your grandmother—have always recommended,” Brown said.
“As we travel around the state, one of the many things I notice is that retailers have to be optimists,” said Alabama Retail Association President Rick Brown. “Every day they open their doors and don’t know if anybody is going to come in.”
“What the judges particularly liked about the Boll Weevil Soap Company is the uniqueness of the products that are made and sold, and that the Westers are ‘all-in’ for Enterprise,” she said. “The company’s exponential sales growth over the past few years also made quite an impression.
“Chad devotes a lot of time and energy to helping out fellow retailers downtown,” Dennis said. “And Kendra is all about quality control.”
Boll Weevil Soap Company, founded in 1997 by Rosemary Howell, celebrated its 25th anniversary Aug. 10. In the Westers’ five years of ownership, Boll Weevil Soap Company has relocated to downtown Enterprise and has tripled its sales, Dennis said.
“We are so excited to celebrate Chad and Kendra Wester and their amazing team,” said Enterprise Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Erin Grantham. “Chad’s passion for small business extends beyond his own storefront as he continuously champions for the success of his neighbors.”
Chad Wester, who said his wife refers to him as a “volunteeraholic,” is the founding chairman of Enterprise Main Street program, on the executive board of the Downton Enterprise Business Association, and has served as a chamber of commerce director. He is credited with spearheading a virtual community event during the height of the pandemic during which he also counseled other downtown businesses improve their online presence.
“I do want to recognize the hard work that Boll Weevil Soap Company has made in making downtown what it is today and what it is growing toward in the future,” said City of Enterprise Administrator Jonathan Tullos. “They embody what it means to be an entrepreneur.”
Chad Wester thanked former Enterprise Main Street Director Cassidi Kendrick for nominating the Boll Weevil Soap Company for the honor. “The business is a family affair, with both their children supporting the business,” wrote Kendrick in her nomination. “The Westers’ daughter makes candles for the family-owned business. Their son pursued other professional avenues but maintains his role as a ‘Boll Weevil Soap Advocate’.”
Chad Wester credited the “amazing staff,” for the store’s success. “I am the only man who works here and these girls keep me straight,” he said. “Especially my wife; there would be nothing to sell here if it wasn’t for her creations and quality control making sure all this happens.
“This is a huge award and we’re humbled,” a visibly emotional Chad Wester said. “But more humbling than the award is the fact that people come through that door and spend money with us every day.
“That’s how we survive and how this business functions,” he added. “The support we get from this community is ‘unboll-weevable’.”