The U.S. Small Business Administration will honor the nation’s most outstanding entrepreneurs, and announce the National Small Business Person of the Year for 2006, during National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C., April 12-13, 2006.
More than 100 outstanding small business owners from around the country will be honored at award events that will focus on the achievements of America’s top entrepreneurs. Four major award events will take place, culminating with the announcement of the National Small Business Person of the Year, and a tribute to small businesses recovering from natural disasters, including the recent hurricanes that devastated the Gulf region.
The National Small Business Person of the Year and runners-up will be selected from among the 53 state small business winners, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Small business honorees reflect the full range of business products, services and innovations offered by our nation’s entrepreneurs, ranging from a cake bakery to a family health club; from a dairy farm to a manufacturer of components for Blackhawk helicopters.
This year the SBA will present a new award, the 2006 American Spirit Awards, which will recognize the accomplishments of small businesses in the areas devastated by the 2005 hurricanes, and acts of volunteerism on the part of individuals and businesses that went above and beyond the call of duty in their efforts to aid victims.
Small Business Champion Award winners will also be honored. These awards recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves by their advocacy on behalf of women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned small businesses. Champion Awards will go to a small business journalist, financial services and home-based business representative who contribute to small business development, as well as to a small business exporter, young entrepreneur and family-owned business. The National SCORE Chapter of the Year will also be honored. In addition, the SBA will recognize the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) 25th anniversary, marking the remarkable and successful milestone aiding the nation’s entrepreneurs to realize their dreams of business ownership.
The Phoenix Awards recognize a public official, a business owner and a volunteer whose efforts have enabled their businesses or communities to recover successfully from a disaster. Several financial institutions will receive Lender Awards for their efforts in using SBA loan programs to support the growth of small businesses.
SBA will also award a number of honors in the area of federal contracting. Those awards include:
* Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large prime contractors that have excelled in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors.
* Gold Star Award, recognizing the exemplary performance of federal personnel who carry out the aggressive goals and strategic initiatives that help ensure a role for small business in the federal marketplace.
* Frances Perkins Vanguard Award, honoring government and industry for excellence in the use of women-owned small businesses as prime contractors and subcontractors.
* Small Business Prime Contractor and Small Business Subcontractor of the Year, honoring small businesses that have provided the government and industry with outstanding goods and services either as prime contractors or as subcontractors.
For additional information on Small Business Week 2006, including a full schedule of events, go online to http://www.sba.gov/sbw.
Editor’s note: A list of state winners is below.
Small Business Week 2006 is co-sponsored by the following organizations: Sam’s Club, Intel, Microsoft, SCORE, Raytheon, the Kauffman Foundation, Nationwide, IBM, Verizon Communications, Johnson & Johnson, BAE Systems, KBR, Cisco Systems, Fiducial, Aetna, Administaff and Symantec.
Disclaimer: The support given by the U.S. Small Business Administration to this activity does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of any cosponsor’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 [email protected]. Authorization # 2006.
2006 STATE SMALL BUSINESS PERSONS OF THE YEAR
MARYLAND
Mark McGrath, Owner
Steven L. Moore, Owner
Chesapeake Plastics Mfg., Inc.
Lusby, MD
