Buffalo, NY – Two of the region’s most dynamic business leaders, Robert E. Rich Jr. and Melinda Rich, will address the Canisius University graduate Class of 2015 on Wednesday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the Koessler Athletic Center, located at the corner of Main Street and Delavan Avenue.
Robert and Melinda Rich are chair and vice chair, respectively, of Rich Products Corporation, the nation’s largest family-owned frozen food manufacturer with approximately 50 locations across six continents and upwards of 2,000 products.
As chair of Rich Products, Robert Rich has led the company to more than $3 billion in worldwide sales revenue by continuing to build the business in new markets with cutting-edge management practices, high business ethics and customer service standards.
In her role as vice chair and managing shareholder, Melinda Rich focuses on the development of the company’s award-winning organizational culture and work-life programs. She also serves as president of Rich Entertainment Group, overseeing the company’s baseball, theater, travel and entertainment-related businesses.
Robert and Melinda Rich’s contributions to the economic welfare of Western New York is paralleled only by their contributions to the region’s civic well-being.
In 1983, Robert Rich purchased the then-struggling Double-A Buffalo Bisons professional franchise, in order to keep professional baseball in the Queen City. Five years later, he and Melinda Rich cut the ribbon on Buffalo’s new downtown ballpark, celebrating the fulfillment of a dream to build a new home for the Bisons and setting the franchise on a course that has since included two league championships and annual minor league attendance supremacy.
The couple also founded Western New York United Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse and serve as the annual chairs of the Greater Niagara Bass Eye Challenge, which raises significant money in support of cystic fibrosis research.
Canisius will confer honorary doctorate degrees upon Robert and Melinda Rich during graduate commencement ceremonies.
For more information about graduate commencement ceremonies, contact the Office of Public Relations at 716-888-2790.
Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
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