NEWS RELEASE
SAN DIEGO DISTRICT
Release Date: May 11, 2022
Contact: Cynthia Harris, 619-727-4884, Cynthia.harris@sba.gov
San Diego SBA Announces Local Small Business Week Award Recipients
SAN DIEGO–The SBA San Diego District Office is proud to announce its 2022 Small Business Week Award winners:
Small Business Person of the Year (Also SBA State winner for California.)
Hernán Luis y Prado, CEO VetPowered, LLC (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
Family-Owned Small Business of the Year
Randy Bates, CEO; Sarah Reyes, CFO; Jean Bates, Secretary; and Christopher Bates, President NatureScape Services, Inc. (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year
Sayed Ali, President, and Shamus A. Sayed, Vice President Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.(San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Marc Westray, Marketing Specialist, Interpreters Unlimited, Inc.
Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year
Drew Simpson, President; Keith Arnold, Vice President; and Ryan Tisinger, Director of Business Development Amerivet Contracting (National City, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year
Melinda Dicharry, President Paradigm Mechanical Corp. (Lemon Grove, CA)
Nominator: Self-Nomination
SBA District Director's Award for Innovation and Growth
Tosh Dutt, Founder/CEO ChargeNet Stations (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Jonathan Irwin, Advisor, and Rachel Lozano Castro, Director, The Brink Small Business Development Center
Jill Andrews Award for Overcoming Adversity
Minh Cong Vu, President, and War War Win, General Manager Aurora Medbiochem Company (Escondido, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
SBA District Director's Award for Staying Power
Edgar Deleon, President FedVet Construction (Chula Vista, CA)
Nominator: Monica Palacio-Wolfe, SBA Relationship Manager/Vice President, Banner Bank
SBA District Director's Award for SBA Mission Support
Steven Sivitz, Community Engagement Chair SCORE San Diego Chapter 0140 (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Sally Broff, Chapter Chair, SCORE San Diego Chapter 0140
Anthony Vigil Advocacy Award for Outstanding Assistance to Small and Diverse Businesses in Contracting Arenas
Karen Prescott-Loeffler, Director of Local Government Relations and Economic Development NECA-SD (National Electrical Contractors Association-San Diego) (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
Small Business Journalist of the Year
Mike Freeman, Staff Writer The San Diego Union-Tribune (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Daniel Fitzgerald, Director, San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center Network
Financial Services Champion of the Year
Wesley Pawl, Business Advisor North San Diego Small Business Development Center (Carlsbad, CA)
Nominator: North San Diego Small Business Development Center, Team
Minority Small Business Champion of the Year
Wanda Rogers, Owner CSW Funding, LLC (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Ayanna Young, Operations Manager, CSW Funding, LLC
Veteran Small Business Champions of the Year
Karen A. Linehan, Business Outreach Program Manager; Alma D. Bañuelos, Business Outreach Program Coordinator; and Sidney Hucklebridge-Key, Lease--Leaseback Outreach Coordinator San Diego Unified School District, Facilities Planning and Construction (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Self-Nomination
Women in Business Champion of the Year
Liz Lemesevski, Chair Women's Programs, Chair Fundraising SCORE San Diego Chapter 0140 (San Diego, CA)
Nominator: Sally Broff, Chapter Chair, SCORE San Diego Chapter 0140
Business organizations, lending institutions, chambers of commerce, and trade associations, typically nominate candidates. A panel is convened at the San Diego District Office to review local nominations and select a winner in each of the categories.
This year's Small Business Awards Event, presented by the San Diego & Imperial Valley Small Business Development Center Network, will be held Thursday, May 19, 2022, 11:30a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, 1 Park Blvd., San Diego, California, to publicly honor our local small business owners and advocates. Individual seats cost $100. Register at: bit.ly/MCC-SBDC-SBA
For nearly 60 years, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.
During this year’s National Small Business Week: Building a Better America through Entrepreneurship, May 1-7, the U.S. Small Business Administration spotlighted the resilience of America’s entrepreneurs, who are doing their part to power our nation’s historic economic comeback. And shared important information about the many services and programs the U.S. Small Business Administration offers to help start and grow businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.
Watch SBA’s national awards recognition events at U.S. Small Business Administration -YouTube.
Consider submitting a nomination for our 2023 National Small Business Week Awards program. 2023 awards nomination guidelines should be released by November of 2022, with nominations due in early January of 2023. Subscribe to receive SBA updates at SBA e-Newsletter Sign-up
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