SBA Honors Nation's Top Small Businesses
Monday, May 7, 2012
Small Business
Person of the Year winners from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and Guam will converge on Washington, D.C. in May, when one of them will
be selected as National Small Business Person of the Year during the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s celebration of National
Small Business Week, May 20-22.
The
participating state small business winners represent a broad range of business
products, services and innovations, including a gourmet food maker from Maine,
a North Carolina microbrewery, a bus-builder from Nevada, a Wisconsin dental
clinic, a machine parts miller from Iowa, a trade show producer from New Mexico
and 47 others from across the country.
While in D.C.,
the winners will have opportunities to meet with top administration officials,
congressional representatives and national business leaders. The highlight of
the celebration will come when one of them is named National Small Business
Person of the Year.
National Small
Business Week is cosponsored by the SCORE Association as well as numerous
corporate and trade sponsors to be announced.
Events on the
three-day schedule will be available for viewing virtually through SBA’s free,
live webcasting, which will be accessible at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/.
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. The
event also will be webcast live at the web site.
Participants
also will be recognized for their involvement in disaster recovery, government
contracting, and their support for small businesses and entrepreneurship, and
awards will be presented to SBA partners in financial and entrepreneurial
development, including the year’s top SCORE Chapter, Small Business Development
Center and Women’s Business Center.
The National
Small Business Week award events will include the following individuals and
groups (Others can be found at the National Small Business Week website at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com
The National
Small Business Person of the Year, selected from the State Small Business
Persons of the Year.
SBA Small Business Awards
The Champion
Awards, recognizing both individuals and organizations for their achievements
on behalf of small business, including minority, women and veteran-owned small
businesses. The Phoenix Awards, recognizing a public official, a business owner
and a volunteer whose efforts have helped their businesses or communities
recover successfully from a disaster. The Lenders of the Year, honoring
financial institutions, including those that provide financing for small
business exporters and inner city businesses. The Entrepreneurial Development
Awards honoring Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers
and the National SCORE Chapter of the Year for their innovation and excellence
in assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses, plus awards for SCORE,
SBDC and Women’s Business Center counselors of the year. The Dwight D.
Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large prime contractors who have
excelled in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and
subcontractors. The Gold Star Award, recognizing exemplary performance of
federal staff who manage the aggressive goals and strategic initiatives that
help ensure a role for small business in the federal marketplace. The Frances
Perkins Vanguard Award, honoring industry for excellence in the use of
women-owned small businesses as prime contractors and subcontractors. The Small
Business Prime Contractors and Small Business Subcontractor of the Years, honoring
small businesses that have provided government and industry with outstanding
goods and services as prime or subcontractors.
NOTE: A
complete list of all award winners will be available on the National Small
Business Week Web site at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com
Small Business
Week 2012 sponsors and cosponsors include: the Association of Small Business
Development Centers, the InterContinental Hotel Group, Lockheed Martin, the
National Association of Development Companies, the National Association of
Government Guaranteed Lenders, the National Association for the Self-Employed,
Northrup Grumman, Office Depot, Paychex, Raytheon, SCORE, the Small Business
Investor Alliance, VISA, and Women Impacting Public Policy.
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
#SBW2012.
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