Local entrepreneur invited to White House

Related Photos

Ray Land in Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo
Ray Land with some of his coaches behind him. Courtesy photo
Ray Land (center) at the White House. Courtesy photo
Ray Land at his office in Branford. - Photo: Andrew McGee

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October 5, 2012

Local entrepreneur invited to White House

Fabulous Coach Lines owner one of 100 showcased for successful company

Andrew McGee Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Fri Oct 05, 2012, 11:14 AM EDT

Branford — The chief executive officer of Fabulous Coach Lines in Branford was recently invited to the White House.

Ray Land, 25, along with 99 other entrepreneurs went to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 28 for an awards ceremony at the White House in recognition for their company’s growth and vision. All 100 business leaders are of the Empact 100.

The Empact 100 list is comprised of the top 100 companies in the Empact Showcase. In 2012, the companies on the Empact Showcase created more than 8,000 jobs and controlled $1 billion in revenue.

“They like to highlight companies that are creating jobs,” said Land. “They selected 100 young entrepreneurs under 30 years of age with companies making $100,000 annually.”

Empact, formally known as Extreme Entrepreneurship Education, wants to facilitate

entrepreneurship in communities around the world. They support these young entrepreneurs knowing how these upcoming individuals and their companies can and will impact our economy. Empact has worked with over 400 colleges and universities as well as chambers of commerce and workforce development organizations to help promote entrepreneurship.

Land was very gracious and appreciative for being selected for the award.

“It was very much an honor. We probably represented one of the smaller towns,” he said. “You know, usually you have people from New York or L.A. or Chicago and then little Branford?”

Branford is home base for his company, Fabulous Coach Lines, which he started in 2004 at the young age of 17. It began with a used 1989 motor coach and through hard work and commitment, now FCL has over 65 assorted size and type vehicles for tour and fleet services. He now has close to 200 employees to help him build and promote exceptional customer service in the transportation industry.

Although Land has been named 2010 BusinessWeek’s Top 25 under 25 Young Entrepreneurs, and featured in WallStreet Journal, Business Week, Fox Business and Metro Magazine, to name a few, and has had the opportunity to travel all over, he still loves his town of Branford.

“I get to go all over America and then come back to Branford. It’s always something special,” says Land.

Land has always strived to bring the best customer service that he can and knows that strong initiative, brings success. “I try to keep humbled and we are all appreciative of our customers,” said Land. “Those who have stuck with us in good times, and the not-so-good times, even bad times. It’s those people that keep us going.”

For more about Empact 100, go to www.empact100.com and for more about Ray Land and Fabulous Coach Lines, go to www.FabulousCoach.com