Forward Janesville - TheReport - Fourth Quarter 2023

Blain’s Farm and Fleet “Janesville is the center of the universe,” Jane Blain Gilbertson, second-generation president & chief executive officer. Few major retail brands can claim connection to their hometown the way Blain’s Farm and Fleet can. Blain’s started as a small discount supply store in 1955 and has expanded to 45 stores across Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. But Janesville ideals remain front and center. “They (Bert and Claude Blain) chose Janesville because they could see then, just as it is today, a thriving and supportive community where we take care of one another all in an effort to make this a place that we are proud to raise our families and build great businesses,” shared owner Jane Blain Gilbertson. Community is at the heart of the store’s mission and brand. It’s a place where “customers are treated like neighbors and associates are treated like family.” The loyalty runs so deep, in fact, that Blain’s has never left a community where they have opened a store. “Every decision we make is for the long term, and we do not take this responsibility lightly.” All in the Family How some of Janesville’s most well-known family businesses succeed generation to generation By Ashley Pettay Blain. Cullen. Fanning. Gray. Hoffman. Prent. Westphal. You see these names on shopping carts, equipment trucks, glass bottles, catering vans and on large, well-lit signs around town. Behind each moniker is a family story that has been built generation to generation. Building a legacy doesn’t happen accidentally. John Westphal, the third-generation owner of Westphal & Co., says preventing the old saying “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” from coming true “requires showing both the good and the bad of the company. The next generation should join the business because they have their eyes wide-open and they want to join.” Businesses, like families, often have passed-down pieces of wisdom that become their unof fi cial mottos or philosophies. Janesville’s generational businesses are no exception. These turns of phrase encompass the values driving success from one generation to the next. 6 | FORWARD JANESVILLE Current owner Jane Blain Gilbertson and her husband Mick Gilbertson with their two daughters celebrating their Pass It Forward Award from Blackhawk Technical College Founding owners Bert and Claude Blain