Published: October 18, 2009 12:39 am      

U.S. Small Business Administration is looking for potential award winners

FAIRMONT — The dates for the 2010 National Small Business Week are set, and the U.S. Small Business Administration is looking for potential award winners.

Every year, the president designates one week to recognize the contribution that small businesses make to the national economy, said Rick Haney, public information officer for the SBA’s West Virginia District Office in Clarksburg. President Barack Obama has named the week of May 24, 2010, as National Small Business Week, with events being held in Washington, D.C., to acknowledge individual small businesses and champions.

As part of that celebration, the SBA honors the top small business owners at the state, regional and national levels with its annual awards competition.

“It is a time where we can thank and recognize all the small businesses in the country in what they do to keep the economy vibrant,” Haney said.

He said it’s more important now than ever to celebrate small businesses because of the role they play in helping the economy.

The awards presented to individuals who own and operate their own business include Small Business Person, Small Business Exporter, SBA Young Entrepreneur, Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business, and Entrepreneurial Success.

The Small Business Champion Awards go to people who promote and assist small business and volunteer time and services, but the winners aren’t necessarily small business owners. The honors include Financial Services Champion, Home-based Business Champion, Minority Small Business Champion, Veteran Small Business Champion, Women in Business Champion, and Community/Rural Lender.

The biggest SBA award, the Small Business Person of the Year, is given to an entrepreneur who has developed an outstanding business, overcome challenges and adversity, and contributed to the local community.

The West Virginia Small Business Person goes directly to the national competition and bypasses the regionals. The recipients in all the other categories go to the Philadelphia region to compete, and the winners from the region then move on to the nationals.

“In the past, we’ve had some national winners,” Haney said of West Virginia.

The West Virginia District Office will recognize the 2010 state recipients during an awards luncheon on May 13 at Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley.

Nominations can be submitted in two ways. Nominators can go to www.sba.gov/wv and fill out an application online. The SBA will then contact the nominee, collect the rest of the information specifically from them, and help them put together a complete nomination package. The deadline for this method is Nov. 6. The SBA has already received a few Web site submissions.

If the nominator wants to prepare the package for the nominee, the complete packet is due at the SBA’s West Virginia District Office in Clarksburg by Nov. 30. Self-nominations are also accepted.

“It’s not a daunting project. It’s just something you have to put a little time (into),” Haney said.

He said the competition is generating a good amount of interest and the SBA has been getting a lot of feedback about it. The competition is a way to recognize small businesses that have achieved success and have stepped forward during the current economic situation.

“It’s a good way to show these people are outstanding,” he said.

Four companies from North Central West Virginia were among those acknowledged at the 2009 West Virginia Small Business Awards Celebration.

Lotus MacDowell, owner of Artworks in Bridgeport, was the 2009 Women in Business Champion, and Oliverio’s Ristorante Inc. in Bridgeport was named the Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business. Also, Jim Martin, president of Citynet in Bridgeport, was selected for the Entrepreneurial Success award, and Angelo Petitto Jr., Jim Petitto and George Marshall from Petitto Mine Equipment Inc. in Morgantown were chosen for the Small Business Exporter honor.

Joseph Lillard, president of Washington Homeopathic Products in Berkeley Springs, was the Small Business Person of the Year for 2009.

For more information, visit www.sba.gov/wv.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.