Baker Roofing Company has received the 2011 North Carolina Family Business of the Year Award by the Wake Forest University Schools of Business Family Business Center.

Baker Roofing was honored with the Generations Award for exceptional longevity in family ownership of the business which began in Raleigh more than 95 years ago. The award was presented to Baker Roofing’s leadership during ceremonies at Reynolda House in Winston-Salem.

The Family Business Awards, presented by the University’s Family Business Center and media sponsor Business North Carolina, are designed to recognize the achievements of family-owned, North Carolina-based businesses and their contributions to their communities.

Baker Roofing was founded in Raleigh by Prentiss Baker Sr. in 1915 as a tin shop and today Baker’s descendants still run the company which has grown and evolved into the third-largest roofing company in the U.S., according to an industry trade publication.

Today eight family members actively work in and manage Baker Roofing which now has

more than 750 employees in 10 locations across the Southeast. Baker is also the largest roofing company in North Carolina.

Among the family membership who represent the latest generational succession are W. Prentiss Baker III, Frank Baker, Dylan Baker, John Matthews, Toby Boyles, Mark Lee, Andy Baker and Kristi Baker Lee. The company’s current leadership includes Prentiss Baker as chairman, Woody Baldwin as chief executive officer and Mark Lee as president.

“Baker Roofing truly embodies a multi-generational family business that is financially successful while still valuing family succession and being an integral part of the community,” said Kathy Baker, director of the University’s Family Business Center.

She noted that in addition to the company’s growth over the decades, Baker Roofing is a community leader and supporter of countless non-profit charities including the Wake County Boys and Girls Club, the Salvation Army of Wake County, Habitat for Humanity and local churches.

Baker Roofing was one of four companies honored by the Family Business Center in several categories of its annual awards.