White Directory Publishers
What started out as a risky venture more than three decades ago has paid dividends, as White Directory Publishers has grown from a small operation in 1968 to one of the largest of its kind today.Growth and innovation have been trademarks of White Directory Publications of Buffalo, a 2000 recipient of a Galanis Award for Excellence in Family Business.
In 1968, Wilbur D. Lewis, the company’s first president, founded White Directory as an independent yellow pages directory for the Buffalo area. The move was considered risky at the time, but it was a risk worth taking, as evidenced by the tremendous growth the company has experienced in 32 years.
When Wilbur Lewis started White Directory in 1968, there were only 15 workers. Today, White has more than 600 workers and is one of the largest independent directory publishers in the United States. With revenues of $45 million in 1998, White Directory was 21st in Business First’s listing of the top 100 private companies in western New York for 1999.
Wilbur Lewis’s son, Richard Lewis, is currently CEO of the company. In the years since he took over in 1986, White Directory has grown to be worth more than $80 million. Additionally, the company has taken advantage of new technology to offer web-based directories and has plans to develop an Internet search engine that can be utilized by the company’s branches on the East Coast.
White Directory is involved in community activities. Richard Lewis is active in the Make A Wish Foundation and the company sponsors a Cerebral Palsy Telethon and Golf Outing. The company donates to the United Way and throughout the years has given tens of thousands of dollars to various charitable organizations.