NSBA Announces Finalists for Advocate of the Year Award

May 14, 2008

NSBA today announced the finalists for the 2008 Small Business Advocate of the Year. After evaluating a very impressive pool of candidates, NSBA is pleased to recognize five outstanding small-business owners who have gone above and beyond in advocating on behalf of America’s small businesses.

In addition to highlighting outstanding achievements from the best in the small-business community, the award holds special significance this year. For the first time in 2008, it will be made in honor of the late Lewis Shattuck, the pioneering small-business advocate and long-time president of the Smaller Business Association of New England.

2008 Finalists
P.J. Goel, of Goel Services, Inc. in Washington, DC, has a long history of outstanding small-business advocacy and was most recently named the 2007 SBA Washington District Small Business Advocate of the Year. Goel has testified before Congress and has volunteered his time and services to assisting minority small-business groups. He has been an ardent supporter of the SBA, and has recommended increased funding for various programs. In addition to his outspoken advocacy, Goel runs a very successful business in construction and federal contracting, and has seen impressive growth over the past four years.

Harold Jackson, co-founder of Buffalo Supply, Inc. in Lafayette, Colorado, has been a leader on the issue of small-business access to health care both through his advocacy efforts and through his innovative approaches at Buffalo Supply. Jackson routinely meets with members of Congress on a variety of issues including health care, employee benefits, and federal procurement. Jackson has served as an SBA 8(a) mentor and has volunteered many hours assisting two service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Jackson’s leadership of Buffalo Supply has ushered in unprecedented growth for the company since the early 90’s.

Anthony Jiminez is president and CEO of MicroTech, LLC in Vienna, Virginia, a rapidly-growing service-disabled veteran-owned small business which provides IT consulting services and systems engineering. A retired Army officer, Jiminez is active in working for veteran and Hispanic small businesses and was named 2006 Veteran Entrepreneur “Vetrepreneur” of the year. He has testified before Congress on the importance of federal contracting to small, veteran-owned businesses and met with President George W. Bush in April to discuss the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. He volunteers for a wide array of business and veteran-oriented organizations, and spends countless hours mentoring other entrepreneurs.

Ron Klein, founder and CEO of Belzon, a Huntsville, Alabama business, is active in leadership at the Huntsville/Madison county Chamber of Commerce and recently served as the Chamber’s Vice Chair for Small Business. Through his Chamber volunteer work, he worked to create, staff and populate many successful business training classes, and oversaw myriad small-business programs. He volunteers regularly for area small-business initiatives, has served as an entrepreneurial mentor, and spurred the development of a community-wide, inclusive small-business coalition. Under Klein’s leadership, Belzon, a defense services business, has grown from $331,000 in revenue in 1998 to $11.6 million in 2008.

Joseph Melookaran, founder of JMA Chartered and JMA Information Technology (JMA-IT) in Overland Park, Kansas, has an impressive record of volunteerism, and was named the SBA 2006 Minority Small Business Champion of the Year. Melookaran established JMA chartered, a thriving accounting and management consulting business, in such a way that he is able to devote 30 percent of his time to volunteer activities. Melookaran has worked with a local business incubator helping start-up businesses and has held leadership positions in numerous local, regional, state and national associations dedicated to entrepreneurship, civic involvement, and Asian American business issues.

The criteria used in determining award finalists was a commitment to small business advocacy, a proven history of volunteer activism on behalf of the small-business community, and success and growth as a small-business owner. The five finalists and one winner will be recognized at the annual Small Business Advocate of the Year Award Luncheon on June 3, 2008, held in conjunction with the NSBA Washington Presentation in Washington, D.C.