National Company Born in the NRV ...........14

assistance with little to no cost. all came through. The desire to support their fellow americans during such a national tragedy was overwhelming. it was an emotional manufacturing run. Many tears were shed by Prestar employees as the boxes came off the lines and were packed into cartons to be shipped to Washington d.C. an interesting and fun order came about for the emmy awards governor’s ball. after the emmy awards, there is a dinner for all the nominees. For three years in a row, starting with 2008, Prestar had the honor of making custom boxes to hold the treats that were placed on dinner tables for everyone in attendance. For the first year, duncan hines was the sponsor, so four brownies were placed into each box. For their excellent design, the Printing industry honored Prestar with an award in the category of Presentation Packaging.

For the next two years, the sponsor was dove Chocolates, so four different chocolate bars went into each box. For the 2010 design, the Printing industry once again honored Prestar with an award in the category of Confectionary Packaging.

For one of these years, dove Chocolates shipped sixthousand bars from California to Prestar, arriving the last week of august. Prestar turned the air conditioning down to fifty degrees while running the order so the chocolate wouldn’t melt! a refrigerated truck was waiting for the completed order and took the boxed bars back to California for the awards banquet. all three of the Chrisman boys worked for Prestar during their high school and college years. taylor, however, was the only one to join the family business. Preston and Parker both graduated from Virginia tech and followed their dreams. Preston became a Fisheries biologist for the state of south Carolina while Parker became a Manager with amazon in Chesterfield, Virginia. taylor graduated from radford university in 2010 with a degree in business Management and began working out in the manufacturing section to learn all the ropes of the processes involved. in 2011, he became involved in sales. From there, he has continued to grow and develop his knowledge of sales, quoting, shipping, and designing. taylor’s wife, Melanie, graduated from radford university with a degree in Communications. she joined the team in 2020 and handles Prestar’s special Projects as well as all social media, hiring, fulfilling orders, quoting, and all general areas of customer service. taylor and ‘Mel’ have become an important and integral part of the family business. as an added bonus, Mel will sometimes bring the grandchildren to visit! ten-year-old randy has already begun talking about working at Prestar when he grows up. Maybe the family legacy will continue!

What began as a dream, or nightmare depending on who you ask, has grown to become one of the leading rigid setup paperboard box manufacturers in the united states. With Craig’s knowledge of the industry and all the machines, along with anne’s financial background, the Chrismans have withstood the rigors of starting and growing their own business for the past twenty-eight years. and they’ve done it while also being married for thirty-nine years and raising a family. taylor of course married Mel, and the two of them now have three children of their own – randy, sutton, and Finn. Preston Married brie, and they have grady and addison. Finally, Parker married Nourdjan, and they have aidan, Mila, and Charlie. anne tells us that the support of their sons from the very beginning, and now along with their wives and their own children, have made this incredible journey possible.

Craig Chrisman had a dream of starting his own business. anne Chrisman thought surely it would a nightmare! but he persisted, and she relented. twenty-eight years later, they still own and operate Prestar Packaging, inc. located in Christiansburg, Virginia. The journey was rough and rocky at times, but they endured and have grown their company from just the two of them up to sixteen employees. to this day, they continue the same as when they began all those years ago – investing as much sweat, blood, and tears as do their wonderful and dedicated employees.

Prestar Packaging • Anne Chrisman and Craig Chrisman www.PrestarPackaging.com • 540-382-7051 1690 Parkway Drive, Christiansburg, VA