Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
Washington, D.C. — NSBA today named Michael Mitternight of New Orleans as the 2010 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year. Mitternight was honored along with four other small-business owners today during NSBA’s Annual Advocate of the Year Award Luncheon, part of the annual NSBA Washington Presentation.
“I am honored to announce Michael Mitternight as the 2010 Lewis Shattuck Advocate of the Year,” stated NSBA President Todd McCracken. “He has been incredibly involved on the local and national levels and his unending commitment to the betterment of America’s small-business community is commendable.”
Mitternight is president and owner of Factory Service Agency, Inc., a commercial air conditioning service and construction company in Metairie, La., a suburb of New Orleans. Although he has been hit with many challenges in the last few years, Mitternight has faced each day with optimism and pragmatic determination.
Mitternight 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.
Also a leader in his industry and community, Mitternight established an HVAC training program at the Louisiana Community and Technical College in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which he continues to develop and expand. He also has been instrumental in workforce development initiatives through the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
At the luncheon, NSBA also recognized four finalists: Donna Childs of Risk Ready LLC.; Harry Siegel of HMS Technologies, Inc.; David Stetler of Stetler Associates; and Bhupesh Wadhawan of Link Solutions, Inc.
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
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