SBTC Honors "Champions of Small Business Innovation"

Feb 7, 2012

The Small Business Technology Council honored Members of Congress, Congressional Staffers, and small business owners and employees for their work in ensuring the Small Business Innovation Research program was given a long-term reauthorization with the Champion of Small Business Innovation Awards on Thursday, February 2 at a reception hosted by the NSBA.  After over 3 years and 14 short-term extensions, the SBIR program finally received a long-term reauthorization late last year, when it was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama.  This final act was the culmination of years of hard work and determination from small businesses around the country, as well as policymakers in Washington who recognized the importance of the SBIR program for America’s high-tech small businesses and never gave up in making sure this program was given the long-term reauthorization it deserved.

Highlighting just how many people played a role in getting this important piece of legislation passed, a total of seventy-three individuals were recognized by the Small Business Technology Council.   These winners were selected by the SBTC membership as individuals whose contributions to SBIR reauthorization were above and beyond the normal, expected efforts.   In addition to “Champion of Small Business Innovation” awards, “Lifetime Achievement” awards were given to individuals who have spent over 10 years working on SBIR and small business innovation advocacy.  Also, four “Most Valuable Player” awards were given to Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Olympia Snowe, Kevin Wheeler, and Bob Weiss, as these four were identified by our members as being the most important and hard working individuals in the SBIR reauthorization effort.

Follow this link to view pictures from the February 2nd Awards reception:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102260459112508523243/SBTCChampionOfSmallBusinessInnovationAwards2212?authuser=0&feat=directlink

We are proud to recognize the contributions made by those who volunteered their time, effort, and money in ensuring that this vital program continues to provide small businesses the capital they need to develop new technologies.  Below is a list of the award recipients:

“Most Valuable Player of Small Business Innovation Advocacy”

“Lifetime Achievement, Small Business Innovation Advocacy”

“Champion of Small Business Innovation”