As the MGC celebrates Black History Month, the Commission recognized the oldest minority-owned business in New England, Everett-based Owens Movers, at a public meeting on February 13, 2020.

Recently, the local company provided services to Encore Boston Harbor, moving gaming tables, gaming equipment for the nearby dealer training school, and relocating table games, in addition to completing other on-demand jobs for the casino.

The Gaming Act set clear priorities of establishing a diverse and skilled workforce, and providing opportunities for women, veteran and minority-owned businesses, like Owens Movers. The MGC continues to enthusiastically embrace that legislative mandate, striving to ensure maximum economic benefits and an industry reflective of the Commonwealth.

In the early 1920s, it was no small feat for a black man to successfully open a business in the United States. But in 1927, at the age of 16, Henry Owens, Jr. bought his first moving truck, and Henry F. Owens, Inc. was open for business.

Henry had been an entrepreneur from a young age; at 11 years old, he borrowed money from his father for a horse and buggy to sell ice to neighbors and to move luggage to and from the pier for newly-immigrating Italians.

Henry F. Owens, Inc., now named Owens Movers, moved furniture and appliances for big clients and was responsible for moving Raytheon’s first-ever microwave (which was about the size of a fridge) and grand pianos to and from Symphony Hall and Tanglewood Music Center.

With their handmade skids, dollies, and ties, they were particularly popular for moving pianos, averaging eight a day. When the country was struggling with the Great Depression, the Owens family’s business was booming so much that Henry was able to buy a Model T Ford truck for the company.

“We all hope we can share the same goal of providing for our family as the greatest priority,” Chair Cathy Judd-Stein told Henry’s son and Owens Movers’ Chief Executive Officer Eddie Owens at the MGC’s public meeting. “But just imagine how you’ve touched all of the Commonwealth, never mind areas around, by making sure that the music of the Pops, the Symphony, has been available to all of us.”

During the 1970s, Eddie Owens took over the company, and immediately looked to expand the business. Large household items had been Owens Movers’ forte for decades, but Eddie had even bigger ideas. He grew their operations to include commercial and industrial customers, establishing relationships with major Boston firms.

“I always wanted to go into the moving business because my dad was my hero,” Eddie Owens told the Commission. “And there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of my father.  And when I make decisions, ‘What would Dad say?’  What would Mom say?’  Because you want to make them proud.  So I thank you again from my family, my grandchildren, because they’re all hearing us.”

By 1979, Owens Movers was one of only a handful of minority-owned businesses in the nation, was the only Boston agent for Global Van Lines, and was the only minority-owned moving company on the East Coast with the authority to transport goods out of state.

Then, almost 40 years later, Owens Movers’ work expanded into the gaming industry, right at home in Everett with Encore Boston Harbor.

“We were very excited when Gaming Act went into effect in 2011,” Ed Owens, Jr., Chief Financial Officer at Owens Movers, said. “In fact, six months later, my dad and I were sending emails, networking and trying to meet as many folks as we could.  It’s been a great experience, and we’re very thankful for the opportunity.”

“I can’t think of a finer example of what the gaming law was intended to do,” Commissioner Bruce Stebbins said during the MGC’s public meeting. “It was intended to give local small businesses in Massachusetts the opportunity to partner with, you know, a nationally and internationally-recognized company.  And the legislation was so specific about that, and your company is a great example of how that success for the gaming statute’s being realized.”

Owens Movers attributes their nine decades of success to company culture. Today, the company has 25 employees, performs commercial trash removal, and provides industrial warehousing and storage. And, as part of Teamsters Local 25, they are able to provide their employees with excellent benefits.

“One thing that my dad has always said is that our business will always be based upon relationships,” Owens, Jr. said. “You know, as a moving company, our goal has never been to be the biggest moving company in Boston. We want the relationships. It’s really the quality aspect that has really attracted us to Encore. A lot of our employees have been very fortunate.  We have a great team, and a lot of our employees have been with us since I’ve been a baby.  And, you know, they put in a lot of work over the past year-plus, making sure that the execution was up to one standard.  So we want to thank everyone from Encore for giving us the opportunity to provide services.”

To learn more about vendor and supplier opportunities in expanded gaming, click here.