Russell Vernon is owner and Chairman of the West Point Market, an upscale specialty food store in Akron, Ohio. Vernon and his store have become celebrated for offering superior customer service and specialty foods from around the world.
West Point Market has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bon Appetit, Esquire, Nation's Business, Inc. Magazine and Reader's Digest. ABC's Good Morning America featured his store in a national segment on businesses acclaimed for their high levels of customer service.
Vernon attended the University of Akron School of Business, where he now serves as Chair of the Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. His other board positions include B. W. Rogers Co.; Sumner Home and Vice Chairman Retail Counsel, N.Y. He also serves on the Board of Directors, NASFT. NASFT is the National Industry Association located in New York City.
He has been named Small Business Person of the year by the Small Business Administration, Entrepreneur of the Year by the Akron Regional Development Board, and Sales and Marketing Executive of the Year by the Akron Sales and Marketing Association. In 1995 he was an Ohio Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business.
More recently, he was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Finalist for 2000. He was entered into the first Ohio Grocers Hall of Fame for 2000. He was named to the Weatherhead School of Business, Family Business Hall of Fame for 2000 and honored with a Northeast Ohio Success Award for 2000.
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