The director of the Hamilton County Business Development Center, an incubator managed by the Chamber, as well as two BDC tenants and one alumnus have been honored by the Tennessee District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the CSTCC office of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.
Angela Glover, BDC director, is winner of the Tennessee SBA Women in Business Advocate of the Year Award.
BDC tenant winners are Ed Bentley of Bentco Office Solutions, TNSBA Federal Procurement Award, and James Walton, Financial Solutions Network, TN SBA Minority Small Business Advocate.
Kris Simmons of Fire Eye Productions, a recent BDC graduate, won the Tennessee SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Other Chamber members honored are Missy Whitaker, Print-A-Scent, Tennessee SBA Small Business Exporter of the Year; Denise Dorais, Midas Muffler, Tennessee SBA Entrepreneurship Success Award; Sharon Cannon, Cannon Public Relations, Chattanooga SBDC Volunteer of the Year. Velma Wilson of Cleaning Solutions is the Tennessee Small Business Person of the Year Runner-Up.
The Tennessee Small Business Week Awards for Chattanooga-area businesses will be presented May 6 during ceremonies from 2-4 p.m. in the BDC at 100 Cherokee Blvd.
According to the Tennessee SBA's Acting District Director, Clint Smith, there are 12 winners from the Chattanooga area.
"We are pleased that the SBDC and this region of the state have produced so many small business people who are so worthy of these prestigious awards," he said.
Three founders of local companies will receive SBA's Tech Innovation Award: John Woods of West Wind Technology in Athens, Jack Callahan of Callahan's Kudzu Management in Cleveland, and Tony Bright of Flex-Trax in Cleveland.
The Tennessee SBA Small Business Person of the Year is Mark T. Isom, President and CEO, Premiere Building Maintenance of Knoxville, who will receive his award in Knoxville during the first week of May and who is now eligible to win the National SBA Small Business Person of the Year Award, to be announced at the SBA Expo on May 21 in Orlando.