Our 2026 FBA Awards of Excellence will take place on May 7, 2026 at Brightwood Golf & Country Club
For over 25 years, Family Business Association – Atlantic has been helping multi-generational family businesses
succeed by bringing them together to share knowledge, experience, and peer support.
During our 18 years of annual awards events, we have recognized, celebrated, and promoted the achievements and considerable contributions made by Atlantic Canadian family businesses and young entrepreneurs to our regional economy.

















Founders of Today, Foundations for Tomorrow
The 2026 Family Business Atlantic’s Awards of Excellence Luncheon takes place May 7, 2026 from 11:15 AM to 1:30 PM at the Brightwood Golf & Country Club in Dartmouth, NS.
Family Business Atlantic is proud to welcome Colleen Cole of Permacrete Systems Ltd. and Roxanne Tate of Tate Engineering to our Awards of Excellence stage. Our theme, Founders of Today, Foundations for Tomorrow celebrates two visionary female founders who are redefining leadership roles and exemplify innovation, resilience, and long-term thinking. Not only are they shaping successful enterprises, but also laying the foundations for a future built on family business and community.
Our awards event will include a presentation, alongside a fireside chat facilitated by Jill Murray, FBA Director and Director of Marketing and Communications at Advocate Printing. We look forward to hearing this insightful conversation with our recipients who will share their experiences on founding and leading businesses in engineering and concrete – industries that are grounded in strength, precision, and long-term impact.
We are also proud to be presenting John Abbass of Econo Color with FBA’s second ever Honourary Lifetime Membership, recognizing his decades of dedication and leadership since the organization’s inception in 1997. His contributions and unwavering support have helped shape FBA into the thriving community it is today.
While each family business has a diverse and different history, all have the connection and support of family in common. We are grateful to our Family Business Association members and sponsors whose continued support enables us to hold this annual celebration that continues to profile the many contributions family enterprises deliver each day to our regional economy.
Permacrete Systems Ltd. (PERMA-DRY) is a family-run business that was founded in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1978 by Colleen and her husband Bill Cole. Working with a team of chemists and engineers, they successfully formulated PERMA-SEAL, PERMA-DRY’s first unique, proprietary product, which allows cracked and leaking concrete to be permanently repaired from the inside, in any weather. Since then, PERMA-DRY has continued to expand and diversify. Now it offers a broad range of products and services to private home owners, industry and government, which range from waterproofing and concrete repair todecorative concrete finishes and underpinning.
Due to its widespread success, Permacrete recognized the need to expand its business in order to offer its proprietary products and systems to a larger area. Permacrete did this by franchising its business model to independently owned and operated businesses. Permacrete started franchising in 1990 and its original Cape Breton franchisee is still with the company.
Tate Engineering began in 2012, rooted in a simple need. Flexibility for a young family. At the time, Roxanne and her husband Murray were juggling demanding careers, frequent travel, and raising three young children. When an anticipated move fell through and Roxanne had
already resigned from her job, the family decided to take a chance and build something of their own. What started as a practical decision quickly became a long-term vision.
Roxanne launched the company with a focus on energy management, guided by a trusted industry mentor who encouraged her to develop her own systems, processes, and approach. Within a year, her work was being recognized for its rigor and innovation. As projects grew,
so did the opportunity to expand service offerings into construction and project management. In 2013, Murray joined the business full-time, bringing deep experience from major projects earning Tate a contract on the Halifax Convention Centre development. Together, they built a company grounded in technical excellence and values-driven decision-making.
As a family business, Tate Engineering balances professional ambition with real-life dynamics. Roxanne and Murray have been intentional in creating a sustainable company built on systems, processes, and a strong team not dependency on the founders. Their children
have grown up hearing conversations about business, integrity, problem-solving, and opportunity. Unlike Roxanne’s own upbringing, their kids now see what is possible for them and where their own paths might lead, whether inside or outside the business.
In its 15th year in business, Tate Engineering stands as a reflection of resilience, integrity, and purpose. What began as a necessity for one family has evolved into a respected company that supports its employees, contributes to its community, and builds projects that matter across Atlantic Canada.
2025 – Amos Pewter & LED Roadway Lighting Inc.
2024 – Summit Airport Parking, Voda Retreats, & Sou’Wester Gift & Restaurant Company
2023 – Ashley & Devon McConnell-Gordon, Benjamin Bridge, Beatrice Stutz, Domaine de Grand Pre, Geena Luckett, Luckett Vineyards
2022 – Dr. Margaret Humphreys, Watermark Consulting, East Coast Laundry, & Lighthouse Transportation Inc.
2021 – Stephanie Clark and Jennifer Montgomery, Blue Door Group, The Italian Market, & James F Lahey Glass
2020 – Dr. Robert Blunden, Blunden Construction Limited, Nevell Provo, Smooth Meal Prep, & Aileen Reid, A.P. Reid
2019 – Beachcoast Earrings, Giffin Technologies, & MacArthurs Quality Flowers and Plants
2018 – Northeastern Protection Services, Minuteman Press & Thian Carman
2017 – Stanhope Simpson
2016 – Fisher Transport Inc.
2015 – Cresco
2014 – Rideout Tools Inc.
2013 – Archway Insurance
2012 – Halifax Seed Company
2011 – J & T von Zutphen Construction Inc.
2010 – Polly Cello Ltd.
2009 – The Bragg Group of Companies
2008 – O’Regan’s
Special thanks to John Abbass of Econo Color for being our exclusive Association Photographer.
Most event photos are credited to Mr. Abbass.