For three decades, Perry Carpet & Furniture Cleaning Services Inc. and Perry Janitorial Services have been the epitome of what a family and community business can and should be.

FORT WAYNE-If small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, then family-owned businesses are the heart and soul of the community, providing vital services, economic lifeblood and shining beacons of a “can do” spirit for the nation.

For three decades, Perry Carpet & Furniture Cleaning Services Inc. and Perry Janitorial Services have been the epitome of what a family and community business can and should be.

“This year marks 30 years,” said Hakim Muhammad, son of the company’s founders, Mary and Isaac Perry. “It started with my parents they moved here in 1970 and they were part of the great migration that lasted from the 1920s to 1970 when five million black folks moved north to escape Jim Crow laws.”