Georgia
Georgia small businesses honored during national ceremony
ATLANTA – Georgia small businesses were honored among others during the 2024 National Small Business Week Award Winners ceremony.
Release:
The SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced the National Small Business Week (NSBW) 2024 Award Winners, including Georgia’s Small Business Person of the Year, and other business owners, leading partners, and advocates who embody the grit and determination that power our nation’s economy and ensure disaster-impacted communities can recover. This year’s NSBW will take place April 28 – May 4, 2024.
“Our 2024 National Small Business Week award winners exemplify excellence, innovation, and commitment, and the SBA is proud to showcase their incredible achievements and impact on their communities and our economy,” said Administrator Guzman. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, more Americans than ever before are pursuing the American dream of business ownership and able to access more opportunities, with historic investments in communities across America in local infrastructure, broadband, manufacturing, innovation, and clean energy. National Small Business Week is the nation’s opportunity to lift up the amazing entrepreneurs, small business advocates, local partners, advisors, lenders, and investors who support America’s entrepreneurial spirt and the historic Biden-Harris Small Business Boom.”
Georgia Winners
Georgia’s Small Business Person of the Year is Eric Williams, President and CEO of Unified Defense and Prince Service & Manufacturing, two manufacturing companies Williams operates as a single entity in Middle Georgia. His companies manufacture and provide metal components to defense and commercial sectors. Williams received $2.2 million in SBA loans to help finance and expand his organization, including the acquisition of Prince Service & Manufacturing in 2022.
“Unified Defense and Prince Service & Manufacturing is a great example of a small business that is helping power the local economy in middle Georgia by creating and adding jobs to a rural area,” said Terri Denison. “Rural areas rely on small businesses to employ more than 54 percent of workers, and Eric’s personal mission is to help make his rural community a great place to both live and work.”
The SBA’s 2024 National Exporter of the Year is Oscar Felipe Arroyave, President and Founder of Atlanta-based Spectrum International Group, LLC. The company designs, manufactures and sells specialty contact lenses to over 65 countries around the world. Spectrum received an SBA COVID EIDL loan during the pandemic that provided working capital to reach new markets and invest in technology. Additionally, the company has worked with the Small Business Development International Trade Center for SBA loan assistance and received an SBA State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant funding in 2022 to help with exports.
“We are excited to congratulate Spectrum International Group’s Founder Oscar Felipe Arroyave for representing the state of Georgia and being named the SBA’s 2024 National Exporter of the Year. Georgia has experienced three consecutiverecord-breaking years for exports, with companies such as Spectrum exporting nearly $50 billion in goods to 215 unique countries and territories. Spectrum is a shining example of how leveraging SBA resource partners and programs can help small businesses expand their global footprint.”
Award Ceremonies
The NSBW Award Ceremonies will take place April 28 – 29, 2024 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington, D.C., where Administrator Guzman will recognize the national award winners and individual state winners, and also announce the top honor of National Small Business Person of the Year from among the individual state winners. Administrator Guzman will then launch a roadshow tour from April 30 – May 3, 2024, which will include stops in Manchester, N.H., Milwaukee, Wis., Denver, Colo., and Billings, Mont. Administrator Guzman will be joined by local leaders to honor award-winning small businesses and discuss SBA initiatives and opportunities for the small business community. The week-long National Small Business Week celebration will also feature a virtual summit co-hosted by SCORE, mentors to America’s small businesses.
In Georgia, an awards luncheon will be held in Metro Atlanta in early May honoring the Georgia Small Business Person of the Year, Georgia Exporter, and other local award winners from the state.
2024 State Small Business Persons of the Year:
State
Awardee(s)
Name of Business
City/State
Alabama
Shanna Ullman, Timothy Ullman, Robert Prescott
Transformation Partners LLC
Tuscaloosa, AL
Alaska
Kali C Bennett
The Waterworks
Anchorage, AK
Arizona
Austin Tsosie/Dan Riggs
Dine Development Corporation
Scottsdale, AZ
Arkansas
Lynette West
HealthWear Corp
Jonesboro, AR
California
Carrie A. Schmidt
B.C. Schmidt Construction, Inc.
Colusa, CA
Colorado
Benjamin and Christine Herron
Achieve Sports Center
Denver, CO
Connecticut
Maria Miranda
Miranda Creative
Norwichtown, CT
Delaware
Amy Lord Hughes
Lord’s Landscaping, Inc.
Millville, DE
District of Columbia
Manuel “Manny” Cosme
CFO Service Group
Washington, DC
Florida
Yanet Herrero
KINGS Service Solutions
Orlando, Florida
Georgia
Eric Williams
Unified Defense and Prince Service & Manufacturing
Byron, GA
Guam
Jessica Leon Guerrero
M80 Systems, Inc.
Asan, GU
Hawaii
Ronald B. Panzo
Nalu’s South Shore Grill
Kihei, HI
Idaho
Jeanne McFall
RIVHAB Engineering Design
Eagle, ID
Illinois
Jacqueline Jackson
Kilwins
Chicago, IL
Indiana
DuJuan McCoy
Circle City Broadcasting
Indianapolis, IN
Iowa
Cathy Bishop
Aggie’s Inc.
Sergeant Bluff, IA
Kansas
Dallas M. Haselhorst
Treetop Security, LLC
Hays, KS
Kentucky
Ines M. Rivas-Hutchins
INTEC Group LLC
Lexington, KY
Louisiana
Iam Tucker
Integrated Logistical Support, Incorporated (ILSI, Inc.)
New Orleans, LA
Maine
Matthew Polstein
New England Outdoor Center
Millinocket, ME
Maryland
Rose Maria Li
Rose Li and Associates
Bethesda, MD
Massachusetts
Stephanie Vanderbilt
Coastal Windows & Exteriors
Beverly, MA
Michigan
Tiffany Klingensmith
Unconventional Solutions, Inc.
Wixom, Mi
Minnesota
Micah Eveland; Kent Eveland
Scamp Trailers
Backus, MN
Mississippi
John Ruskey
Quapaw Canoe Co.
Clarksdale, MS
Missouri
Charlie M. Downs III
Sugarfire Smokehouse
St. Louis, MO
Montana
Loretta L. Bolyard, PHD
Mountain West Psychological Resources
Butte, MT
Nebraska
Michael Moravec, PT, DPT, OCS
Bluffs Physical Therapy
Scottsbluff, NE
Nevada
Wanda Luna
Universal Furniture Design
Las Vegas, NV
New Hampshire
Susan Borchert & Betsy Harrison
Counseling Associates
New London, NH
New Jersey
Isabelita “Lita” Marcelo Abele
U.S. Lumber Inc.
Woodbury Heights, NJ
New Mexico
Christopher J. Sweetin
Triskelion Group of New Mexico, Inc.
Albuquerque, NM
New York
Aneesa T. Waheed
Bollywood Masala Corp dba Tara Kitchen
Schenectady, NY
North Carolina
Dylan Reid Gehrken
GREASECYCLE, LLC
Raleigh, NC
North Dakota
Cherie Olson Harms
Leonardite Products, LLC
Williston, ND
Ohio
Ericka Adams
Adams Dental Assisting Academy
Gahanna, OH
Oklahoma
Angelene Wright
Ida Red
Tulsa, OK
Oregon
McKean Banzer-Lausberg, Michael Branes, Colin Rath, and Eric Banzer-Lausberg.
Migration Brewing, LLC
Portland, OR
Pennsylvania
Dorothea Spencer
D Gillette Industrial Services
Easton, PA
Puerto Rico
Eduardo Diaz-Argimon
Baldwin Animal Hospital, PSC
Guaynabo, PR
Rhode Island
Brian Goldman
Big Blue Bug Solutions
Providence, RI
South Carolina
Vickey Evans
CORG Management Group LLC
Columbia, SC
South Dakota
Nick & Greg Heineman
Look’s Marketplace
Sioux Falls, SD
Tennessee
Craig Charles
Crown Cutz Academy
Johnson City, TN
Texas
Tamiko Bailey
Bailey’s Premier Services, LLC
Fort Worth, Texas
Utah
Autumn McGregor
Zion’s Tiny Homes
Hurricane, Utah
Vermont
Kerry Boyle
Integrative Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Montpelier, VT
Virginia
Anil Boinapalli
Sky Solutions, LLC
Herndon, VA
Washington
Heather McDowell
Seattle Green Earth Cleaning
Seattle, WA
West Virginia
Lisa Fritsch, Peter Fritsch, Adam Leach and Chet Tobrey
Agile5 Technologies, Inc
Fairmont, WV
Wisconsin
Eric Rupert, Sam McDaniel, Jessica Benish
Fortune Favors
Cottage Grove, WI
Wyoming
Dr. Erica Higgins
Empowered Chiropractic
Casper, WY
In addition to state-level recognition, national awards will also be presented in the following categories to the following:
Small Business Exporter of the Year:
- Spectrum International Group, LLC, Atlanta, GA
Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery:
- Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery: The Coffee Shoppe, Selma, AL
- Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official: Dirk Joseph Guidry, Chauvin, LA
- Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer: Leanne Rogers Lovell, Wynne, AR
Federal Procurement Awards:
- Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Action Manufacturing Company, Bristol, PA
- Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Knowledge Based Systems, Inc., College Station, TX
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence – Services (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors): Jacobs, Greenwood Village, CO
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence – Construction (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors): Bechtel Corporation, New York, NY
- 8(a) Graduate of the Year: Johnson’s Consulting dba Cetechs, Mesa, AZ
Awards to SBA Resource Partners:
- SCORE Chapter of the Year Award: SCORE SE Wisconsin Chapter, Milwaukee, WI
- Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award: Aurora-South Metro Small Business Development Center, Aurora, CO
- Women’s Business Center of Excellence Award: Great Lakes Women’s Business Council, Southfield, MI
- Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year: Mississippi State University VBOC, Starkville, MS
Small Business Investment Company of the Year:
- Emerging Manager: Mizzen Capital, LP, Stamford, CT
- Established Manger: Argosy Private Equity, Wayne, PA
Surety Bond Agent of the Year:
- KOG International, Inc., Enola, PA
For more information about National Small Business Week, visit www.sba.gov/NSBW. Media interested in scheduling interviews with Administrator Guzman should contact press_office@sba.gov.
Cosponsorship Authorization # 24-1-C. SBA’s participation in this Cosponsored Activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any Cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.