In 1981, together with her college roommate Caryl Walker and equipped with an old-fashioned cookie recipe from her grandmother Elsie, Cheryl Krueger started her business from scratch. What began as a single cookie store has now evolved into a multi-million dollar business. Gourmet cookie stores were quickly opening across the country in the early 80’s. Armed with only $40,000, a degree in home economics/business and her seven years of retailing experience Cheryl decided to open her own cookie business - Cheryl’s Cookies. Banks were nervous about dealing with a woman business owner, and cash was tight. Turning small batches into large batches delayed her first store opening by weeks. Thanks to the help of friends, family and local business owners, the first store opened. Cheryl worked two jobs for the first five years to support the business, traveling back and forth between New York City and Columbus every week. But in 1988, with Cheryl on board fulltime, the company broadened its offering to include gifts and desserts along with an expanded dessert line which now included brownies, cheesecake, pies and cakes. This growth inevitably led to the change of the company name to Cheryl&Co. Cheryl Krueger President & CEO Some of the many company awards include the 1995 Business Integrity Award of the Year, selected by the Greater Columbus Better Business Bureau. Cheryl&Co. has also been recognized as an outstanding educational partner with a local high school for their School-to-Work program, C.C.H.I.P. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, Cheryl&Co. was selected to be one of the “Fast Fifty”, a distinction given to the top fifty fastest growing privately held companies in Central Ohio. In 1986, Cheryl was the Columbus Area Small Business Person of the Year finalist, given by the Small Business Administration. In 1994, Ms. Krueger was a finalist for the Central Ohio Entrepreneur of the Year award, sponsored by Inc. Magazine and Ernst & Young. She received the 1996 "Excellence in Enterprise" award, given by the Ohio Department of Development to the top woman-owned businesses in Ohio and was named in "Who's Who Among Outstanding Americans.” Today, Cheryl&Co. is a multi-faceted business comprised of retail stores in Ohio, a growing internet business and a Business Gift Division all headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. In 2005 Cheryl& Co. merged with 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. The company mission statement reads: Our mission is to be the best gourmet food and gift company, ever. Cheryl and her team believe that their customers vote with their dollars. Every customer service incident is carefully reviewed by the team, and a letter is immediately sent to the customer, personally signed by Cheryl. Who is Cheryl Krueger? Along with running the business on a daily basis, Ms. Krueger also sits on the boards of Bob Evans and The James Cancer Development Board and is a past member of the Federal Reserve Board for District 4. She is also a member of the World Presidents Organization (WPO) and is an Honorary Board Member for the Seal of Ohio Girl Scout Council. She also sits on the Board of Trustees for the Columbus Academy and is the Chairperson for its Capital Campaign. In 1987, Cheryl received the YWCA Woman of Achievement award, and in 1992 she received the Outstanding Innovation Achievement Award. The company received the 1995 Business Integrity Award of the Year, selected by the Greater Columbus Better Business Bureau. She was also recognized by Columbus Chamber of Commerce as the "Salesperson of the Year" and by the Ohio State University as "Business Person of the Year". She received the 1996 "Excellence in Enterprise" award, given by the Ohio Department of Development. Cheryl was also named in "Who's Who Among Outstanding Americans." Cheryl was selected as the Female Entrepreneur of the Year and featured on the cover of the May 1999 issue of Working Woman magazine. In October of 1999, Ms. Krueger was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. She has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, CNN-FN, Congressman John Kasich’s book Courage is Contagious, as well as numerous other business publications regarding entrepreneurial philosophies and being a female business person. She has given many speeches to business groups, schools and organizations. "We need thousands more business owners with her courage, creativity, compassion and sense of civic duty." -Ohio Congressman John Kasich Courage is Contagious
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