Accepting Nominations For Small Business Awards

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s West Virginia District Director Karen Friel reminds West Virginia small businesses the nomination period for the 2017 National and District Small Business Week Awards closes Tue., Jan. 10, 2017.

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 our nation’s economy. National Small Business Week is celebrated April 30 – May 6, 2017.

National awards include the annual Small Business Person of the Year and Exporter of the Year. The dedicated website www.sba.gov/nsbw/awards, provides forms, criteria and guidelines for submitting a national nomination.

The West Virginia District Office is also accepting nominations for its 2017 District Level West Virginia Small Business Week Awards, those categories include: WV Family-Owned Small Business of the Year, WV Young Entrepreneur of the Year, WV Encore Entrepreneur of the Year, WV Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year, WV Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year, WV Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year, and WV Small Business Champion of the Year. More information on the district awards can be found at www.sba.gov/wv.

All nominations must be submitted no later than Tue., Jan. 10, 2017.  SBA will no longer be using the Small Business Week online portal. All nomination packages may only be hand delivered or mailed to an SBA Office at 320 West Pike Street, Suite 330 Clarksburg, WV 26330. Email submissions of SBA Awards forms will not be accepted as they contain personally identifiable information (PII).

Questions regarding the awards can be directed to Nikki Bowmar at nikki.bowmar@sba.gov or 304-623-7445.