“It is so warm and welcoming to drive up to their smiles!”

“Extremely professional young men.  Caring is #1 in my book and they care!”

“Attendant was courteous and on the ball.  I was treated like a celebrity.”

“We’re used to this service and would hate to be without it—such a blessing!”

“This young man has gone out of his way to be kind and helpful.  Every attendant I have encountered has been kind and polite.”

“Delighted with this service!”

“Excellent service—very professional and kind.”

“They couldn’t be any better.  They help so many people.”

“You can’t improve on perfect!  They are all great. “

“I am recovering from back surgery and this service has been wonderful.  Great people you have working for Park Inc here in New York.”

“The attendants were exceptional.  We appreciated their assistance.”

“I was hurting really bad this day and the attendants really helped me out.  Thanks.”

“I am so glad this service is available.  Lease keep this going.”

“Attendants continue to be courteous and helpful beyond my expectations!!”

Stephen and the Park Inc staff operate valet parking services at the Moses Cone Regional Cancer Center, Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. 

About Park Inc:  Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Park Inc offers parking garage, parking lot, and valet parking management services throughout North Carolina including the areas of Charlotte, Salisbury, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Fayetteville, and Wilmington.  In addition to this vast presence in North Carolina, Park Inc also offers parking solutions in other locations throughout the US .

From our humble beginnings in 1994 with only one customer, Park Inc has grown to employee over four hundred employees in eleven different states. Despite a disadvantageous economical climate, Park Inc has thrived through providing excellent service to our customers and never straying from our core values of providing a convenient and efficient parking services through integrity and the use of innovative technology; never becoming content with the status quo, but constantly striving to be the best in an ever-changing industry.

This year marks the fifth consecutive year Park Inc ranks on the Inner City 100 list and their induction into the 2010 Inner City Hall of Fame.  This honor is due to Park Inc’s ability to be part of a small subset of these dynamic inner city businesses that have been able to sustain their rapid growth over multiple years, appearing on the list at least five times.

By comparing the unique characteristics of these hall of Fame companies and their CEOs to the rest of the Inner City 100 group and other firms across the U.S., we can gain valuable insights into what it takes to not only grow, but to maintain a high level of growth over many years.  As a Hall of Fame company, Park Inc continues to have a positive impact in the local communities they serve through civic leadership, volunteer programs and philanthropic activities.

The rankings for each company were announced at the Inner City 100 Awards Dinner on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 in Boston, MA. Winners attended a two-day event featuring seminars for Inner City 100 owners and managers at Harvard Business School, a reception at the Boston Public Library and an Awards Gala that drew more than 800 guests.

The Inner City 100 list provides unmatched original data on the fastest growing inner-city businesses in the U.S. In the last 12 years, 607 different companies have earned positions on the Inner City 100, collectively generating more than $27.2 billion in revenues and creating nearly 72,000 new jobs.

For the 2010 list, a record number of nominations were received.  Winners represent a wide span of geography, operating in 58 cities and 34 states.  The 2010 Inner City 100 winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 37 percent and an average standard growth rate of 340 percent between 2003 and 2008. Collectively, the top 100 inner city businesses employ 10,700 employees and have created more than 6,300 new jobs between 2004 and 2008.

“We are delighted to celebrate businesses like Park Inc that are playing a critical role in revitalizing America’s urban communities.  Through their achievements, the Inner City 100 winning companies exemplify America’s remarkable potential and the road to future economic recovery,” Mary Kay Leonard, ICIC president and CEO. “These extraordinary companies demonstrate the market possibilities that exist within our inner cities.  If we can leverage these possibilities, we can create jobs, income and wealth for local residents and produce the next chapter of American innovation and opportunity.”

Eighty-five percent of companies expect steady growth and 27 percent expect their revenues to grow more than 30 percent. Individually, the median Inner City 100 Company’s revenues were $6.6 million. This year’s winners have a median employee turnover rate of less than 8 percent and 96 percent of them provide health insurance to their workers.

Founded in 1994, Park Inc is a service disabled veteran owned company that is dedicated to providing world class service to customers.  Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Park Inc currently offers valet, shuttle, parking lot and/or garage management, greeter services, internal patient transport, and consultation services in 12 different states.  Corporate administrative functions are housed at the headquarters’ office while regional and local offices provide hands-on management of local service operations.

“We appreciate the work of the ICIC and the recognition that they have given us for what we have been able to achieve,” Brian Haupricht, President of Park Inc.  “This award validates to everyone at Park Inc that what we are doing is important and that our hard work has been recognized.”

The list is proof of concept that doing business in an inner city area holds a distinct competitive advantage.  ICIC has been studying the economic condition of the largest 100 American cities for more than a decade and is working to revitalize inner cities across the country.

Highlights of the 2010 Inner City 100 list include:

• Inner City 100 companies are 34 percent minority-owned.  Nationally, just 8 percent of companies with annual revenues over $1 million are minority-owned.
• 18 percent of the 2010 Inner City 100 are women-owned. Nationally, only 10 percent of companies with over $1 million in annual revenues are women-owned.
• The 2010 Inner City 100 boasts an average workforce that is comprised of 45 percent minority employees and 40 percent inner city residents.

Notes:

To qualify for the Inner City 100 list, companies were required to have at least 51 percent of their operations located in an economically distressed urban area; have at least 10 full-time employees; and a five-year operating sales history that includes at least $200,000 in revenues in the first year of consideration, an increase in year five sales over year four sales, and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million.  For the 2010 list, ICIC looked at total revenue growth from 2004 to 2008, and the specific rankings were based on these growth rates.  An economically distressed urban area is defined by ICIC as having a 50 percent higher unemployment level, 50 percent higher poverty level, and 50 percent lower median income than the metropolitan statistical area.

Inner City 100 Sponsors: Bank of America, Chevron Corporation, Goldman Sachs and Staples Foundation for Learning.

Dear Sirs:
Park Inc has provided valet parking service for events at our museum for the last year. I heartily recommend Park Inc to museum rental clients when they inquire about valet services for their private events. A key to this success is the area manager, Nick Pitts., whom I have found to be particularly professional, both during the planning and execution of parking services for events. Under his supervision, Park Inc has always delivered the required amount of staff for an event without excuses, and they arrive on time, ready to work and offer cordial, efficient parking services. Once, there was a miscommunication, and before I was even aware of the situation, it was solved by Nick’s resourceful actions.

When the need arises for valet parking in the future, I won’t hesitate to call Park Inc, and I wish you the best of success with future business ventures

Sincerely,

Kathy Wright

Read the Full Testimonial Here (PDF)

For further coverage, an article written in Parking Magazine about the event can be found below:

View Article (PDF)

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Veterans are buzzing with excitement about a new service at the Beckley VA Medical Center.

Patients are talking about free valet parking, offered by the contracted company, Park Inc., and paid for by the VAMC.

Bud Hines is a decorated veteran and one thrilled VA patient.

“I have been treated by the VA Medical Center since 1973,” Hines said. “They have been extremely good to me. I have seen them make an awful lot of changes for the better over the last 36 years, but I think this new parking service is one of the greatest assets they’ve ever had.

“You just drive up, get out of your car and they put it in the parking lot. You come out after your time with your doctor, they pick up your car, bring it right back and help you in. It’s a pretty good size parking lot, so it’s a real asset, especially to veterans who cannot walk any great distance.”

The free service has been operating since May, with six employees. Al Hertel, site supervisor for Park in Beckley, says the company assists patients who come up for valet parking with anything they need.

“It may be a wheelchair,” Hertel said, “or just helping them inside, but it’s not just parking their car. It’s a full-service kind of thing.”

One Park employee, Buster Broadnax, is a veteran himself.

“Buster’s an excellent contribution to the company because he is the only veteran we have,” Hertel said. “He can relate, so that helps.”

The supervisor said his drivers park anywhere from 30 to 50 — or more — cars a day.

“We are assisting a lot more than just parking,” Hertel added. “The center is doing flu shots now, and when they first started that, we were swamped. We were valeting 60 to 70 cars a day, in addition to assisting the veterans.”

Margaret Jones of Daniels shared her appreciation for the new service as a driver parked her car.

“My husband Casey is a veteran and he’s disabled,” she explained. “I used to bring him around here and he would have to wait on me. He has Alzheimer’s disease, so sometimes he would forget completely where he was.

“Now they bring a wheelchair out and take him right in. It’s such a big help.”

Valet drivers park vehicles from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

VAMC employees are excited about the service as well.

“I have heard a lot of great comments on the free parking from patients and employees,” Sharon Treadway, certified professional coder, said. “The veterans like it, their spouses like it and management likes it.

“People are constantly talking about how nice the drivers are. They help people in and out of their cars and with wheelchairs. We’re very pleased with it.”

The drivers also help out by donating all of their tips to local, homeless veterans.

“Some patients bring us cookies and things like that because they know we can’t keep tips,” Hertel explained. “We thought this would be a good system and a way to give back.”

Hertel said Park Inc. has contracted with eight to 10 other VA centers.

“We are the newest one they have picked up,” he said. “It seems to be a really good service, moving everybody in and out of the hospital. We stay busy.

“I’ve seen a great response so far,” he added. “Everyone seems ecstatic. Some of the folks shouldn’t be walking through the parking lot, and they need that extra help. We’re constantly hearing how much they like the service, and that it was long overdue.”

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This article can also be found at the Register-Herald website.

Innovative practices and sustained growth are the predominant traits of the 2009 Inner City 100, a ranking of the 100 fastest-growing businesses in inner city communities nationwide.

Now in its 11th year, the Inner City 100 list provides unmatched original data on the fastest growing inner-city businesses in the U.S.  For the 2009 list, over 5,000 nominations were received. The 2009 Inner City 100 winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent and an average rate of 324 percent between 2003 and 2007. Collectively, the top 100 inner city businesses have employed nearly 17,000 people and created nearly 10,000 new jobs over the past five years.

Fifty-three percent of companies expect steady growth, 11 percent expect their revenues to double, six percent expect their revenues to triple, and a mere four percent expect their revenues to decline in 2009.  Individually, the average Inner City 100 Company’s revenues were $23 million.
“We are delighted to celebrate businesses like Park Inc that are playing a critical role to revitalize distressed urban communities throughout America,” said Michael Porter, founder and CEO of ICIC. “By creating jobs, income, and wealth for local residents, these high-growth businesses are vivid proof that the most effective way to address economic inequality in America is to equip every community to prosper in the market system. Inner City 100 companies also provide a window into the future where all companies will need to learn to address diverse customers and mobilize diverse workforces.”

The 2009 Inner City 100 winners operate from 55 cities in 31 states. Fifteen companies on the list are based in California and eight are from Massachusetts. Texas, New York and Colorado each have seven companies on the list. Pennsylvania has six companies on the list and Ohio has five. Three states (Florida, Missouri and Indiana) have four companies on the list. Among the top cities represented in the 2009 list Denver has seven winning companies and Boston, Philadelphia, Oakland, and San Francisco each have four companies listed on the Inner City 100.

The list is proof of concept that doing business in an inner city area holds a distinct competitive advantage.  ICIC has been studying the economic condition of the largest 100 American cities for more than a decade and is working to revitalize inner cities across the country.

The 2009 Inner City 100 winners attended the Inner City 100 Summit in Boston for a two-day event featuring seminars for Inner City 100 owners and managers at Harvard Business School, a reception at the Harvard Club of Boston, and a gala awards dinner at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center that is expected to draw more than 800 guests.

Highlights of the 2009 Inner City 100 list include:

• Inner City 100 companies are 34 percent minority-owned.  Nationally, just 8 percent of companies with annual revenues over $1 million are minority-owned.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 companies are 18 percent owned by immigrants to the United States.
• 21 percent of the 2009 Inner City 100 are women-owned. Nationally, only 10 percent of companies with over $1 million in annual revenues are women-owned.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 boasts an average workforce that is 53 percent minority employees and 43 percent inner city residents.
• The 2009 Inner City 100 pay an average of over $15.00 per hour to hourly employees and $53,000 per year to salaried employees.

For more information about the 2009 Inner City 100 list, please contact Julia Ely at (617) 292-2383.