SBA Administrator Honors Nation’s Top Small Businesses
April 6, 2015
National Winner to be formally recognized in Washington, D.C., May 8
COLUMBIA, SC – Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced today this year’s Small Business Person of the Year winners from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A panel is currently reviewing all the packages and a national winner and two runners-up will be selected and announced at a future date. The national winner will be recognized as the 2015 National Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration this year in Washington, D.C., May 8.
“It is my pleasure and honor to announce the 54 winners. Competition was extremely keen across the nation for these prestigious awards. I couldn’t be any prouder than recognizing these outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners, they represent the backbone of our economy. Small businesses created nearly 2 million of the roughly 3 million private-sector jobs generated in 2014. More than 7 million of the 11 million jobs created during our recovery have been generated by startups and small enterprises,” said Contreras-Sweet.
The 2015 South Carolina Small Business Person of the Year is Melissa Gladden, president of Carolina Recruitment, LLC(CR), a staffing firm in Rock Hill. Gladden, who was the runner-up for the 2014 award, established CR in 2001 to bring innovative staffing solutions to the local business community. Gladden was nominated by Forrest Norman, business consultant with the Rock Hill Area Small Business Development Center. (The full list of the Small Business Person of the Year winners from throughout the nation is attached.)
Each year since 1963, the president has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. This year National Small Business Week will be recognized from May 4-8 with national events planned in Miami, Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York and Washington, D.C.
In addition, the SBA South Carolina District Office has announced the winners of the 2015 South Carolina Small Business and Advocacy Awards, which honor the Palmetto State’s top small business entrepreneurs and supporters. All South Carolina award winners are included below. For more information on the South Carolina award winners, seehttps://www.sba.gov/content/sba-announces-winners-2015-sc-small-business-advocacy-awards.
The SBA will honor its South Carolina award winners on Wednesday, May 6, during its annual Small Business Week celebration—the South Carolina Salute to Small Business. Now in its 12th year, the Salute to Small Business is cosponsored by the SBA, S.C. Chamber of Commerce, S.C. Department of Commerce, S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership, S.C. Small Business Development Center and ECI/Find New Markets. For more information about the Salute to Small Business, see http://scsalutetosmallbiz.com or visit the Salute Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/scsalutetosmallbiz.
2015 South Carolina Small Business & Advocacy Award Winners
Small Business Person of the Year
Melissa Gladden
President
Carolina Recruitment, LLC
Rock Hill, SC
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year
Ted Westmoreland
CEO
The Tactical Development Group
Greenville, SC
Minority Enterprise Advocate of the Year
Nika White
Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
Greenville Chamber of Commerce
Greenville, SC
http://www.greenvillechamber.org/diversity-inclusion.php
Women in Business Advocate of the Year
Nita Hozey
Owner
Praise Unlimited Weddings, LLC
Abbeville, SC
Small Business Ally of the Year (for non-profit organizations)
Lowcountry Local First
Jamey Haley, Executive Director
Charleston, SC
http://lowcountrylocalfirst.org/
Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Award
Rock Hill Area SBDC at Winthrop University
Rock Hill, SC
