ABOUT US

The Scholarship: In honor of John Kavulich, Sr. and his entrepreneurial spirit, Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart annually awards two $2,500.00 scholarships to seniors enrolled in the Cheektowaga School Districts, with one student nomination per school. Criteria for the scholarship: 1) Full-time matriculated senior 2) Demonstrates an entrepreneurial spirit as evidenced by creating and managing a small business selling products and/or services with positive performance results and 3) Plans to seek a degree in business. The Town of Cheektowaga Chamber of Commerce coordinates the selection process.

John Kavulich, Sr. was born in Binghamton, New York, in 1929, to parents of Czechoslovakian descent. At an early age, Mr. Kavulich became interested in scale model wooden airplanes; and would eventually win numerous local, state, and regional competitions and awards. In 1944, at fifteen years of age, and while attending high school, he established the Binghamton Model Airplane Company, a retail hobby store located at 70 Wall Street; and in 1948 became the youngest individual ever to become a member of the Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, whose president at the time said, “We hope that your Wall Street address is the omen of financial success.”

As the retail hobby store became more successful, Mr. Kavulich expanded into the wholesale distribution of models, trains, and crafts. In 1954, he moved to Buffalo, New York, and established Niagara Hobby Distributors, which would eventually sell products to most of the largest retail chain stores throughout the United States. In 1986, Mr. Kavulich returned to the retail business and established Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart in Cheektowaga, New York. Niagara Hobby & Craft Mart has thousands of square feet dedicated to “fathers and sons and mothers and daughters” and a local landmark- a fully-restored 29-ton 1948 caboose, residing in the store’s parking lot. A June 1992 editorial by the Cheektowaga Bee newspaper, said that “… while some people talk about doing things to help today’s youth, Kavulich quietly does things, and deserves a thank you.” John Kavulich, Sr. died on 1 August 2003. He was seventy-three years old.