Nominations being accepted for Small Business Week awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. » The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is now accepting nominations for its 2019 National Small Business Week Awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year.

“This is a great opportunity to recognize those small businesses that have contributed significantly to their local communities, developed creative products or made advances with innovative technologies,” said SBA Administrator Linda McMahon in a press release. “A National Small Business Week award is one of the nation’s highest honors for small business achievement.”

Since 1963, National Small Business Week has recognized the outstanding achievements of America’s small businesses for their contributions to their local communities, and to the nation’s economy. The awards will be presented during National Small Business Week — May 5 to 11, 2019.

SBA Awards that will be presented this year include:

• Small Business Person of the Year — which will include one winner from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

• Small Business Exporter of the Year

• Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery • Federal Procurement Awards • Jody C. Raskind Lender of the Year

• Small Business Investment Company of the Year

• Awards to SBA Resource Partners including: the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award; Women’s Business Center of Excellence Award; and Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award

“I encourage you to visit our dedicated website www.sba.gov/ nsbw to download forms, criteria and guidelines for submitting

a nomination. I look forward to your nomination and wish you the best of luck,” McMahon added.

All nominations must be submitted no later than 3 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2019. All nomination packages must be hand delivered or mailed to the nearest Small Business Administration office. Email submissions of Small Business Administration Awards forms will not be accepted because they contain personally identifiable information.

For contact information and other District Office information visit online at www.sba.gov/districtoffices.

The U.S. Small Business Administration empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. For more information visit www.sba.gov.