SBA seeks nominations for awards

Oklahoma's office for the U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting nominations for its annual event to honor small businesses and their owners, the agency has announced.

“These awards recognize successful Oklahoma businesses while also serving as an inspiration to Oklahomans looking to own their own part of the American dream through small

business success,” said Dottie Overal, director of the agency's Oklahoma office.

Officials said the awards will be made as the agency celebrates its National Small Business Week April 29 through May 5. They include honors such as Small Business Person of the Year, the Small Business Exporter of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and nine others.

Visit sba.gov/nsbw/awards to obtain nomination forms, criteria and guidelines to submit nominations. Nominations must be submitted by Jan. 9, officials said.

Express sets record for hours worked

Express Employment Professionals recently set a record with 4 million hours worked by associates for client companies in one week, it's announced.

The associates who made the milestone possible worked out of nearly 800 franchise locations in the United States, Canada and South Africa. The 4 million hours were worked during the week ending Oct. 22,

which also produced the highest week for sales in the company’s nearly 35-year history. Locally, associates at the 31 Express offices in Oklahoma contributed 153,455 hours for the week.

“When Express was first formed, I dreamed that through building a business with a strong culture of caring, it would shatter records and give people hope through employment,” said Bob Funk, Express' CEO and board chairman.