It was a grand event May 19 at the Museum of Ventura County as the Pacific Coast Business Times honored Harrison Industries as Family-Owned Company of the Year during its 90th year in business.

With many dignitaries and Harrison business colleagues attending, it was a fun and rewarding night as the Harrison brothers saluted the past, present and future.

Introduced by Times Founder and Editor Henry Dubroff, the brothers thanked and gave credit to their parents, E.J. and Myra Harrison, who started the business in 1932 during the Depression. The couple discussed business and kept the books at the kitchen table, never dreaming that their one truck would one day grow into one of the largest family-owned trash companies in California.

The founders’ core values of “service is everything” and giving back to the community — not only by donating to local charities but also by serving on their boards — are alive and well. Another practice that never changed is salvaging anything that can be reused or sold. In the early days this helped the company survive, and today the same type of activities now occurs at Harrison’s Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station in Ventura.

Care for the environment and love of the land were taught to E.J. by his farming parents and passed down to his children. Today, this core value means creating new programs to promote sustainability and fight climate change.

Myron Harrison called Bill Camarillo, the CEO of Agromin, to the stage. The company was started by Bill and the Harrisons in 1993. They recognized early on the importance of recycling organic waste.

Today, many of the brothers’ children and grandchildren are involved in the business. Myron’s final comment was that while they are proud of Harrison’s generational roots, they’re just as excited about current projects such as the Limoneira Commercial Organics and Mountain View Food Waste recycling facilities. These projects help them keep their eyes on the future.

Also honored at the May 19 event were Jesus “Chuy” Loza, co-founder of Freska Produce, and the Deckers and Hardy Diagnostics companies. Much thanks to City National Bank and Wastequip for their sponsorships and wonderful full-page ads.