Velvet Ice Cream President Luconda Dager Shares Her Career Experiences at Women in Business Event
Luconda Dager, president of Velvet Ice Cream, recently joined four other woman business leaders in a panel discussion and individual breakout sessions on their achievements and the challenges they face in business. The half-day Women in Business event was hosted by Columbus Business First. Luconda was also profiled in a feature story in Business First’s Women in Business publication on August 9.
Luconda shared her experiences about growing up in the family business, majoring in business at Xavier University, working as a buyer for a women’s clothing store after graduating, then returning home to Utica to work at Velvet. She learned the business by working in several departments, starting with receiving. She moved on to become vice president of marketing and sales for a number of years before being named president in 2009.
Headquartered at Ye Olde’ Mill in Utica, Velvet Ice Cream has been a family-owned and operated business for nearly 100 years. Founded in 1914 by family patriarch Joseph Dager, Velvet has been run by four generations of the Dager family. Each year, Velvet produces more than five million gallons of ice cream, which can be found in freezer cases throughout the Midwest. The historic Ye Olde’ Mill, which houses the company headquarters, an ice cream museum and restaurant, attracts more than 150,000 visitors a year.