Kauai father, son win top Hawaii business honors

Russ and Randy Boyer run Aloha Lumber Co. and will compete for National Small Business Person of the year

A family-owned building supply company on Kauai will be in the running for national honors from the U.S. Small Business Administration next week, when the agency hosts National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C.

Having been selected as Hawaii's Small Business Persons of the Year in 2006, Russ and Randy Boyer, the father-and-son chief executive and president of Aloha Lumber Co. Inc., are vying for the title of National Small Business Person of the year at ceremonies next week.

Founded as a spin-off of the family construction business, Aloha Lumber has survived hurricanes Iwa and Iniki and along the way grown into the heart of a fiefdom that includes a computer company, a drafting firm and a fuel company.

Russ, who is 64, runs the outfit with Randy, 42. Randy's sons -- Randall, Ryan and Robert -- also work for the company. Asked if participation in the company was reserved for people whose began with the letter 'R,' Russ said with a laugh, "It seems like it, doesn't it."

So does that mean Randy's grandsons, Randall Jr. and Ryden, are destined to join the family business?

"I suppose, although they're still in diapers; they're not very productive yet," Russ said.