At the Paramount Chamber of Commerce’s Installation and Awards Luncheon in June, Mayor Tom Hansen presented the annual Mayor’s Award for Business of the Year to Richard Zamboni and the Frank J. Zamboni Co.
The Zamboni Company is certainly a unique enterprise that the City has been proud of for a long, long time. In many ways, they have put Paramount on the map. There are not a lot of cities this size that can claim to be the home of a worldwide phenomenon, whose name is instantly recognized by millions of people.
This is a special year for them, their 70th anniversary.
Brothers Frank and Lawrence moved to Hynes in 1920. They started an electrical contracting company, and then built an ice-producing plant on California near Jackson in 1927.
This led to the opening of the Iceland skating rink in 1940. Not long after that, Frank invented the innovative marvel that became the Zamboni Ice Resurfacing Machine.
Things are going stronger than ever these seven decades later.
Throughout the years, the Zambonis have stayed committed to their roots in Paramount.
In fact, Frank played a major role in the creation of Paramount. He was instrumental in the unification campaign that combined Hynes and Clearwater under the current name in 1948. He even went to Washington, DC to discuss the matter with their congressman and the Postmaster General. It was the consolidation of the Hynes and Clearwater post offices under Paramount that made the change official.
Frank was also very involved with the Chamber of Commerce in those early years. His son, Richard, who runs the company today, served as president of the Chamber, too.
The family and the company have also been firm supporters of the community. For instance, they have been actively involved with the Paramount Education Partnership since day one.
With all of this in mind, and as a well-deserved birthday present, Mayor Hansen felt it was the perfect year to recognize the Frank J. Zamboni Co. with the Mayor’s Award as Business of the Year.
