The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce recognized Greg Hicks, owner of Impressions Catering, for his commitment to his business, family and community at the annual Business Development Month kickoff luncheon on Monday.
Mr. Hicks is the 17th individual to receive the Bedwell Small Business Person of the Year award since its renaming to honor the contributions of the late Mel Bedwell and 22nd to receive the award since this recognition program began. "Mr. Bedwell was one of the most loyal and supportive members of the Small Business Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors Business Development Month." officials said.
Staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales or unit volume, innovativeness of product or services offered, response to adversity, and evidence of contribution by the nominee to aid community-oriented projects form the basis for this award.
Officials said, "Created by Greg Hicks, Impressions Catering has provided quality, high-end catering in Cleveland/Bradley County since March 2001. At the outset, Impressions was a one-man show.
"Mr. Hicks was the event planner, menu developer, customer service representative, marketing designer, prep cook, chef, wait staff, event set-up staff, event breakdown staff, dish pit supervisor and CEO of the company.
"Now Impressions has grown from being a one-man show to having three full-time employees and five part-time employees. The company has seen substantial growth over the years. From 2009 to 2013 alone, sales volume increased 55 percent.
"A hallmark of Impressions Catering is its owner’s creativity and imagination. Known as an innovative leader in the local catering industry, Mr. Hicks not only uses high-quality products for all his menus, he spends time creating new ways to display food in highly imaginative ways."
“Greg’s vision for the company has always been to introduce Cleveland and the surrounding area to new food trends and cutting-edge food presentation in catering,” nominator Patsy Hicks said. "For example, a few years ago, Impressions began filling small plastic pipettes with various sauces and fillings and using them as lollipop sticks for small appetizers. Some of these lollipops include cornbread and gravy, goat cheese lollipops with port wine, and buffalo chicken with spicy aioli."
Officials said, "Impressions Catering continued to make a name for itself as a leader in dynamic displays and presentations through reimagining the typical 'buffet' and elevating it to new heights . . . literally. Mr. Hicks has built many 'Fruit-Up!' structures, towers using galvanized pipe and pineapples, to display fresh fruit and other types of skewers. The 'Food Wall' was one of the first vertical buffet displays he built, made of clear Plexiglas with multiple horizontal slits cut into it. A single beautiful 'short plate' is secured in each slot on the food wall for guests to remove and enjoy."
Mr. Hicks constructed an aluminum “Bucket Wall," a 6-by-8-foot self-standing structure for hanging miniature stainless steel milk pails. Each individual pail hangs over a votive candle to keep its contents warm for service. Impressions fills these vessels with individual portions of menu items such as low-country shrimp and grits, mac-and-cheese, and apple-brandy crumble.
"As with any small business, the caterer has faced adversity amid his growth and success. When Greg opened Impressions, most of the events that he catered were for corporate business events or for private events,” Ms. Hicks said. “As the recession hit, all of that changed. Greg had to change the focus of Impressions’ target market and find their new niche outside of the corporate and private market.”
In 2009 Impressions began to focus on brides and their wedding day and has since become a leading wedding caterer in the Cleveland area. In addition to finding new clientele, Mr. Hicks also diversified and began purchasing such large items as banquet chairs, linens and tables that he normally would have outsourced to other vendors. By owning this inventory, Mr. Hicks and Impressions became a full-service caterer.
"The most significant challenge for the young caterer was learning how to run a business. His training and passion lay in the culinary arts. Through the evolution of his business, however, he was pushed beyond creating exceptional food for his clients to enjoy to learning to become a successful business owner," officials said.
“Greg sought the advice of Brenda Sheehy who was then with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center,” Ms. Hicks said. Through her counsel, education classes sponsored by Catersource, and the International Caterers Association, he began to understand his business numbers and profitability.
“It was at this point that Greg went from a one-man show to hiring employees that would help him take Impressions to the next level,” Ms. Hicks said.
"Using knowledge gained from these sources, this year’s award winner put the tools into action for Impressions and has since become a consultant for other catering businesses around the country. He was a speaker at the 2014 National Catersource Conference in Las Vegas, Nv.
The catering entrepreneur has never forgotten where he launched his successful small business, and he uses his culinary skills throughout the community.
"Through the years, he has donated time and services to the Relay for Life, The Caring Place, The Community Kitchen at New Life Bible College, YoungLife of Bradley County, The Salvation Army, New Hope Crisis Pregnancy Care Center, Chair-ries Jubilee, and Palate to Palette (benefiting the Craniofacial Foundation of America).
"Mr. Hicks has built several sets for the Cleveland High School Renaissance show choir and CHS Drama Department in recent years. He served several years on the Family and Consumer Sciences Board at Cleveland Middle School. He is a member of the advisory board for the new Culinary Arts Department at Cleveland High School.
"Always willing to help other small businesses in the area, he quickly points people to the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce because he feels that 'the Chamber has been of great value to his business over the years.'
"He also recommends that other beginning business owners seek wise counsel from the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. He has mentored several new business people in the area and has opened up his business location for others to use as they transitioned and looked for new locations to operate their own businesses," officials said.
Mr. Hicks and his family have been members of Candies Creek Baptist Church since 1999. He has served there in the roles of deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Sunday school administrator. He currently serves as a committee member for YoungLife, a local nondenominational youth ministry.
Mr. Hicks and his wife, Patsy, have three children: Hannah, Madylin and Will.
Previous winners of the Small Business Person of the Year are: Roger Pickett, MurMaid Mattress Inc.; Debbie Melton, Don Ledford Automotive Center; Shannon Ritzhaupt, Café Roma; Ed Jacobs, Ed Jacobs & Associates Inc. and Northwestern Mutual Financial Network; Hal Roe, Bradley Rentals; Jim Workman, Bender Realty LLC; Don Geren, Cleveland/Bradley Business Incubator; Steve Robinson, Cleveland Plywood; Lynn Jones, Lynn Jones Enterprises; Ross Tarver, Tarver Distributing Co. Inc.; Loye Hamilton, Coldwell Banker, Hamilton & Associates; Kenneth Higgins, Santek Environmental Inc.; Kay Jenkins Cowan, Jenkins Restaurant & Deli, Dan Cooke, Cooke’s Food Store and Panera Bread; Catherine Boettner, Cleveland Tubing; Jim Duggan, Robinson Building Center; Reba Garrison, State Farm Insurance; Ron Braam, Manufacturers Chemicals LLC; Susan Shelton, Bradley News Weekly; Larry McDaniel, Town Squire; and Mel Bedwell, Cleveland Business Machines.