Virgil Stadler received the Frank S. Holt Jr. Business leadership award Nov. 30. Details...
Virgil L. Stadler (pictured on the left), co-founder and chief executive officer of Stadler’s Country Hams, Inc., received the Frank S. Holt Jr. Business leadership award during a special luncheon Nov. 30 in Elon’s McKinnon Hall.
The award was established by Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business to recognize a local citizen whose contributions to business and the community reflect the same progressive, visionary leadership exemplified by the award’s namesake. The late Frank S. Holt Jr. was president of Holt Manufacturing Co. and an active civic leader.
Stadler and his father started their business in 1955, curing hams in a garage adjacent to the family’s country store. The company has grown steadily from its first tin building in 1959, to its present 140,000-square-foot facility, which has the capacity to cure a million hams a year.
Stadler has built a reputation for leadership and innovation throughout his career. Stadler’s Country Hams is an industry leader in developing new production techniques, including the first fully automated curing line with an automatic salting machine. The company also was the first to cure ham under controlled conditions and to vacuum package sliced country ham.
Stadler serves on the Elon Board of Visitors and is a director of 1st State Savings Bank. He has served on the board of directors of the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce and has chaired the Alamance Community College Foundation Board. He was named North Carolina Entrepreneur of the Year in 1994, and was named Employer of the Year in 1993 by the Governor’s Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities.