The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the winners of the national program and the special award for the National Small Business Week 2025, which will take place from May 4th to 10th. The awards recognize companies and resource partners for their contributions for state contract, disaster recovery and important areas such as export, small businesses and guarantee loyalty.
“SBA is proud to recognize excellence in our small companies and important resource partners,” said the SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler. “While we are preparing to emphasize only some of the many success stories during the National Small Business Week, we are in our mission to enable American jobs and to promote economic growth.”
Government contract
The SBA honored several small companies for their success in the federal contracts:
- 8 (a) graduate of the year: Gina Hill, owner/President of GM Hill Engineering Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
- Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Karen Renee Paschal, President and CEO of Conco Inc., Louisville, Ky.
- Small business subcontractor of the year: Antonio Martinez, President and CEO of Renaissance Global Services LLC, Holmdel, NJ
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for ExcellenceThe excellent contractors in the occupancy rate in small companies were awarded:
- Construction: Glenn Sweatt, Vice President, Contracts and Compliance, Environmental Chemical Corporation, Burlingame, California.
- Manufacture: Rondu Vincent, Executive Director, Supplier variety and sustainability, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lawrence Township, NJ
- Services: Lisa Tanner, connecting officer for small businesses and senior managers from Supply Chain Excellence, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Aiken, SC
Phoenix Awards for disaster recovery
The SBA recognized the resilience in the efforts to recover disasters with the Phoenix Awards:
- Small Business Award: Luis and Amy Fuentes Ruiz, Island Catering LLC, Lahaina, Hawaii
- Excellent contributions, civil servant: Mayor Jennifer Linam Hobbs, Wynne, Ark.
- Excellent contributions, volunteer: Senior Pastor John Grayson, Gospel Tabernacle Church, Selma, Ala.
SBA Resource Partner Awards
The SBA emphasized its resource partners who offer small companies training and support:
- Score chapter of the year: Points of Greater Seattle, Seattle, Washington, led by Chapterstuhl Suvendoo Ray
- Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Award: Angelo State University Small Business Development Center, San Angelo, Texas, led by director Deparay Kathlaine Johnson
- Women Business Center of Excellence Award: Women Business Center in Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, led by director Anne Marie Wallace
- Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year: Veterans Business Outreach Center at the University of Texas Arlington College of Business, Arlington, Texas, led by director Patrick Alcorn
Special prices
- Exporter of the year: Louis Auletta, President and CEO, and Michael Auletta, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Bauer Inc., Bristol, Conn.
- Small Business Investment Company of the Year – established manager: GMB Capital Partners, Minneapolis, Minn.
- Association agent of the year: Alicia Marasco, Vice President of Bond Operations, Capstone Risk Management Services, Las Vegas, Nev.
Upcoming events
The SBA will organize A National Small Business Week Virtual SummitWith details about registrations and speakers on the official website of the event. Local events can be identified by searching #Smallbusinessweek.
If the week approaches, additional updates for programming and activities are passed on on the official channels of the SBA.