Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
Washington, D.C. — NSBA today announced the finalists for the 2010 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. The award winner will be announced during NSBA’s Annual Advocate of the Year Award Luncheon on Wednesday, May 26 at 11:30 a.m., which is the kick-off event for the NSBA Washington Presentation on May 26 and 27.
“Despite the many challenges of running and maintaining a business in what has been a very difficult economy, these five small-business owners have made extraordinary efforts to get involved and advocate on behalf of all small businesses,” stated NSBA President Todd McCracken. “I am honored to recognize such a distinguished pool of business owners."
Donna Childs – Founder and CEO of Risk Ready LLC, an advisory and social media firm in New York, NY building a community of resilient small businesses . Childs has been an ardent and outspoken advocate for small business. In addition to being a frequent commentator in the media on key small-business issues, Childs spends a great deal of time volunteering her services to help ensure small businesses are prepared in the case of emergency or disaster. Childs has written a book on preparedness and was even featured in an on-line campaign of the Department of Homeland Security, “Ready for Business.”
Michael Mitternight - President/Owner of Factory Service Agency, Inc., a commercial air conditioning service and construction company in Metairie, La. Located just outside New Orleans, Mitternight has faced myriad challenges in the last few years with optimism and pragmatic determination. He has testified before Congress on various issues and stays in close contact with his Senators and Representative on key small-business legislation. In the last year, Mitternight testified six different times before various committees and subcommittees of the Louisiana legislature, and has been a valuable resource for countless reporters and journalists.
Harry Siegel –President, CEO of HMS Technologies, Inc., an IT systems integration business in Martinsburg, W.V. Siegel has achieved astronomical growth in his company since its inception six years ago. A highly-respected business owner in the federal contracting arena, Siegel has spent hours mentoring other small-business owners new to federal contracting. He has served as a guest speaker at many small-business conferences, and HMS Technologies was the first ever service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) of the year as named by the Department of Defense.
David Stetler – Principal of Stetler Associates, an employee benefits consulting firm in Westlake, Ohio. Stetler’s expertise in the small-business health care field has made him an outspoken and passionate advocate for fixing the U.S. health care system. Stetler has testified several times before the Ohio Senate and was recently named Volunteer of the Year for the second time by the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) in Cleveland. His commitment to ensuring his clients are able to access affordable, quality benefits is matched by his drive to make these benefits more affordable for all small businesses.
Bhupesh Wadhawan – President and CEO of Link Solutions, Inc., an information technology and management consulting government contracting business in Reston, Va. Wadhawan has grown Link Solutions from one employee in 2006 to 65. He has put a premium on community service within the company, appointing a Community Advocate to help organize new charitable projects amongst the employees. A mentor to two smaller companies, Wadhawan is involved with local and national small-business groups, and has been outspoken in talking to members of the media about critical small-business issues.
The criteria used in determining award finalists was a commitment to small-business advocacy above and beyond policies that specifically impact their own business or industry; a proven history of volunteer efforts to advance and improve the overall small-business community; success in advocating for pro-small business policies; and success and growth as a small-business owner
Since 1937, NSBA has advocated on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. A staunchly nonpartisan organization, NSBA reaches more than 150,000 small businesses nationwide and is proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. For more information, please visit www.nsba.biz
###
