Somerville, MA /diversitybusiness.com/ Gentle Giant Moving Company, a premier residential mover in Massachusetts, has been named winner of the 2002 Small Business of the Year Award by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Gentle Giant was chosen by the Chamber for its continued excellence in providing superior moving services to the Greater Boston community. This award follows several additional accolades recently won by Gentle Giant for its services, including the Better Business Bureau's 2002 Local Torch Award for Excellence and recognition in 2002 as the best moving company by The Improper Bostonian with its fourth consecutive "Boston's Best" award for superior customer service.

Gentle Giant wins this award as Boston enters its busiest moving season. Of all the Bostonians moving during 2002, roughly 30% will do so between August 1 and September 15. Planning early and working with a company renowned for its service can reduce stress. Tips for selecting a mover include asking friends and neighbors about their moving experiences, stopping by and watching your prospective moving company conduct someone else's move, and evaluating third party endorsements of moving companies such as ratings with the Better Business Bureau or the Massachusetts Movers Association, or community or business awards won.

The Boston Chamber of Commerce created the Small Business of the Year Award in 1985 to recognize the entrepreneurial achievements of Greater Boston's smaller companies. The award will be presented at the 6th annual Small Business of the Year Awards luncheon on Friday, September 27, at The Colonnade Hotel in Boston. Master of ceremonies for the event is Anthony Silva of WBZ-AM 1030, with guest speaker Richard Gilman, Publisher of The Boston Globe. Epsilon Associates and Winston Flowers will also be recognized at the luncheon with the 2002 Business Excellence Award.

"Gentle Giant is an outstanding company that has made its mark as a leader in Boston's business community for top-quality moving and exemplary customer service," said Paul Guzzi, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

"Moving is an industry traditionally wrought with customer complaints. Being selected above all Boston companies across all other industries is indeed rewarding recognition," said Larry O'Toole, Gentle Giant founder and president. "It's very much a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our highly trained and motivated employees."

As a testament to its ongoing growth and commitment to the Boston community, the company recently opened the Gentle Giant Rowing Club in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Somerville, offering rowing classes to community youth and adults. Gentle Giant also launched Box Xpress, a new service providing free home delivery of packing materials to customers inside the I-495 loop.

About The Boston Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Boston Chamber (www.bostonchamber.com) is a broad-based association representing more than 1,800 businesses of all sizes from virtually every industry and profession in our region. At the crossroads of business and government, Chamber members work together to ensure the long-term advancement of Greater Boston as one of the world's great metropolitan regions.

About Gentle Giant
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Somerville, Gentle Giant is a premier residential mover in Massachusetts, offering local, interstate, and international moves. Services include craning, piano, and complete packing and unpacking services. Gentle Giant offers storage facilities and dispatches crews from its satellite offices in Acton, Beverly, Framingham, Needham, Weymouth, and Wilmington, Massachusetts, as well as Providence, Rhode Island. For more information, call (800) 466-8844 or visit the company's Web site at www.gentlegiant.com.

Source: Gentle Giant