S. Prestley Blake
Encyclopedia
www.afriendlylife.com
S. Prestley Blake is a co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (known more commonly as "Friendly's"). He attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School and subsequently had Blake Hall named after him.
He and his brother Curtis founded the Friendly's national restaurant chain during the Great Depression. Friendly's is now owned by Sun Capital Partners.
The company that Blake founded in Springfield, Massachusetts
is now based in Wilbraham, Massachusetts
. Blake, now a minority shareholder in Friendly's, lives in Connecticut. He is highly critical of recent management and has actively worked to influence company policy, including through proxy elections in 2007. Since 2006, the 96 year-old Blake has increased his stake in the company and is working with other shareholders to redress alleged executive abuses at Friendly's
The S. Prestley Blake Law Center is the home of Western New England University's School of Law. The $5.5 million expansion of the Law Center, as part of the Western New England University's Transformations campaign, was recently completed before the start of the 2008-09 academic year. Blake donated a substantial amount to the renovation.
On May 1, 2011, Brigantine Media published Blake's autobiography, "A Friendly Life", which describes the early years of Friendly Ice Cream Company as well as Blake's shareholder suit.
S. Prestley Blake is a co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (known more commonly as "Friendly's"). He attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School and subsequently had Blake Hall named after him.
He and his brother Curtis founded the Friendly's national restaurant chain during the Great Depression. Friendly's is now owned by Sun Capital Partners.
The company that Blake founded in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
is now based in Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Wilbraham, Massachusetts
Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is also a suburb of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,868 at the 2010 census...
. Blake, now a minority shareholder in Friendly's, lives in Connecticut. He is highly critical of recent management and has actively worked to influence company policy, including through proxy elections in 2007. Since 2006, the 96 year-old Blake has increased his stake in the company and is working with other shareholders to redress alleged executive abuses at Friendly's
The S. Prestley Blake Law Center is the home of Western New England University's School of Law. The $5.5 million expansion of the Law Center, as part of the Western New England University's Transformations campaign, was recently completed before the start of the 2008-09 academic year. Blake donated a substantial amount to the renovation.
On May 1, 2011, Brigantine Media published Blake's autobiography, "A Friendly Life", which describes the early years of Friendly Ice Cream Company as well as Blake's shareholder suit.