Winners Will Gather in Washington During National Small Business Week
WASHINGTON – This isn’t like the competition we see on today’s popular entertainment television shows. No, it’s far more serious competition and recognition of small businesses that create jobs, produce revenue, lift local economies, support the local infrastructure and give back charitably to the communities where they live and work. It’s about the business of America.
Small Business Person of the Year winners from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam will converge on Washington, D.C. June 20-21, when one of them will be selected as the National Small Business Person of the Year during the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week, (June 16-21). While in D.C., the winners will have opportunities to meet with top administration officials, and national business leaders.
Leading up to the Washington, D.C. event there are regional events that week in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh designed to help small businesses start, grow and succeed.
The participating state small business winners represent a broad range of business products, services and innovations, including a helicopter pilot school in Arizona, a native foods restaurant in Guam, a pet resort in Illinois, a tool and die company in Massachusetts, a structural steel contractor in California and 49 others from across the country.
Events on the schedule will be available for viewing virtually through SBA’s free, live webcasting, which will be accessible at www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek. Interested parties can register online at the same site, where additional information (updated weekly) is available regarding registration, awards ceremonies, small business forums and educational and matchmaking sessions.
Those wishing to attend events can register online:
• in Washington D.C. at http://2013nsbwwashington.eventbrite.com
• in Seattle at http://2013nsbwseattle.eventbrite.com
• in Dallas at http://2013nsbwdallas.eventbrite.com
• in St. Louis at http://2013nsbwstlouis.eventbrite.com
• in Pittsburgh, at http://2013nsbwpittsburgh.eventbrite.com.
Every year since 1963, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight through National Small Business Week the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. This year’s events will be held
June 16-21, in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. offering tips, tools and trainings for small businesses to start, succeed and grow. In addition to in-person events, small business owners can participate in online-only panel discussions on hot topics like social media and business financing starting daily at 4pm ET. All events, in-person and online, will be streamed live on www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek. Also visit this site for a full schedule of events and additional information. The event hashtag is #SBW2013.
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Below is the list of state winners.
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s participation in this cosponsored activity does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of any cosponsor’s, donor’s, grantee’s, contractor’s or participant’s opinions, products, or services. All SBA programs and cosponsored programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable arrangements for persons with disabilities will be made, if requested at least 2 weeks in advance, by contacting sbw@sba.gov. Cosponsorship Authorization #SBW2013.
State listing of Small Business of the Year Winners
ALABAMAMs. Ellen Didier
President
Red Sage Communications, Inc. ALASKA
Doug Coon and Justin Herrin Owners Young’s Gear LLC ARIZONA
John L. Stonecipher
President & CEO Guidance Aviation ARKANSAS
Charlott “Chotsie” Adney
President
Advanced Aesthetics of Arkansas, Inc. CALIFORNIA
Michael “Jason” Ianni
President & CEO M Bar C Construction, Inc. COLORADO
Virginia McAllister
Principal
Iron Horse Architects, Inc. CONNECTICUT
Christopher Ray Runyan
President
Runyan Enterprises, LLC DELAWARE
Coleman E. Bye III
The Mercantile Press, Inc. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Tom J. Loftus
Founder, President & CEO
LS Technologies, LLC FLORIDA
Steve W. Miller
President
EPreward, Inc. GEORGIA
Laura (Beth) Cayce
CEO
CaraVita Home Care GUAM
Christopher F. Bejado
President and Director of Hospitality Marianas Slingstone, Inc. HAWAII
David R. Yogi Jr., P.E.
James K.P. Kwong, Ph.D., P.E.
Members
Yogi Kwong Engineers, LLC IDAHO
Daniel B. Todd
President Triple T Enterprises, Inc. ILLINOIS
Saqib Nadeem
Founder & CEO Paradise 4 Paws INDIANA
Daniel Dale Schmidtendorff
President & CEO
Communication Company of South Bend, Inc. IOWA
Charles B. Hammond Jr.
President & CEO
Raining Rose, Inc. KANSAS
Randy Schaller and Darla Schaller
Owners Tree House Learning Center, Inc. KENTUCKY
Mehdi M. Yazdanpanah, PhD CEO & Founder NaugaNeedles LOUISIANA
Vince P. Gremillion
President
Restech Information Services, Inc. MAINE
Matthew A. Qualey
President
Qualey, Granite & Quartz MARYLAND
Michael C. Sawyers
President & CEO
7Delta, Inc. MASSACHUSETTS
Scott Fallavollita
President
United Tool & Die Co. MICHIGAN
Douglas Hekman
President
Quincy Street, Inc. MINNESOTA
Peter C. Kelsey
Owner and Baker
The New French Bakery MISSISSIPPI
Jeff Good
President
Dan Blumenthal Executive Chef Sal & Mookie’s
New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint MISSOURI
Thomas H. Douglas
President
JMARK Business Solutions, Inc. MONTANA
Joe C. Billion President J.C. Billion, Inc. NEBRASKA
Henry Aschoff
President
Keith Wiehn
Vice President Petersen Ag Systems, Inc. NEVADA
Robert B. Edwards CEO/CFO Joe Machin COO RO Bus Sales NEW HAMPSHIRE
James (Jay) M. McSharry
President Jumpin Jay’s Fish Café NEW JERSEY
Timothy Walsh and Lucas Kovalcik
Owners The Gravity Vault NEW MEXICO
Anthony R. Tenorio
CEO/Chairman
Applied Technology Associates NEW YORK
Louis J. DeMent Jr.
CEO
Giovanni Food Company, Inc. NORTH CAROLINA
Stephen T. Forrest
CEO
Sandra F. Forrest Secretary/Treasurer Shane R. Gebauer COO Brushy Mountain Bee Farm NORTH DAKOTA
Kari Warberg Block
CEO
Earth-Kind, Inc. OHIO
Karri Bass
President & CEO Illumination Research, Inc. OKLAHOMA
Pam Fountain-Wilks
President
Principal Technologies, Inc. OREGON
Judith E. Huck
President
Classique Floors PENNSYLVANIA
Regina Broudy
President & CEO
Clayton Kendall, Inc. PUERTO RICO
Jose A. Irizarry
President
Natalabriel, Inc. RHODE ISLAND
Brenda Brock
Founder/CEO
Farmaesthetics SOUTH CAROLINA
Noah Thomas Leask
President, CEO & Chairman
Ishpi Information Technologies SOUTH DAKOTA
Dwayne A. Klarenbeek
President
Midwestern Mechanical, Inc. TENNESSEE
Dr. Hashem Merdad Hashemian
President & CEO
AMS Technology Center TEXAS
Aziz Mansoor
President/COO
Ahmed Mashnoon
CEO/Secretary Mueen Akhter CFO/Vice President Nebrands Media Corp. UTAH
Roland J. Christensen
CEO
Applied Composite Technology Aerospace VERMONT
Peter Johnson
Owner
Pete’s Greens VIRGINIA
Jason A. Cohen
President
ILM Corporation of Virginia, Inc. U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
Charles N. King Jr. President Delta Electric & Construction Co., Inc. WASHINGTON
Jill L. Blankenship
CEO
Frontline Call Center
And Frontline Services WEST VIRGINIA
Diane Lewis President and CEO Action Facilities Management, Inc. WISCONSIN
Tom Nieman
Owner
Fromm Family Foods WYOMING
Aaron J. Rodolph President Rodolph Brothers, Inc.
-end-
Release Number: 13-26
Contact: Dennis Byrne
Email: Michael.Lampton@sba.gov
Phone: (202) 205-6567
SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration