Nominate Small Businesses for 2014 Awards - Wayne Community College | Goldsboro, NC

Nominate Small Businesses for 2014 Awards

Four organizations are teaming up to recognize the best of Wayne County’s small businesses.

The Small Business Center at Wayne Community College, Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, and Foundation of Wayne Community College are seeking nominations for “Small Business of the Year,” “Startup of the Year,” and “Entrepreneur of the Year” awards.

Nominees for the 2014 awards must be based or operated in Wayne County and meet the U.S. Small Business Administration criteria for classification as a “small business.” All legal small businesses are eligible, including those in agriculture, manufacturing, service sector, retail, and all forms of industry. Past winners are ineligible for the three award cycles immediately following their award.

The Small Business of the Year award will be given to the small business that has most demonstrated excellence in business practices, customer service, and community involvement. Other criteria include growth potential, competitiveness, and value to the community through either job creation or general positive image.

To qualify for “Startup of the Year,” nominees must have opened their doors for the first time in either of 2013 or 2014. The winner in this category will have “exhibited exceptional thoughtfulness and organization throughout the process of creating its business plan and seeing that plan through to fruition.”

The Entrepreneur of the Year award will honor an owner or manager of a private or public company with primary responsibility for the recent performance of that company. The person should be an innovator and visionary and be involved in the community. The award can go to an up-and-coming, established, or recently retired entrepreneur.

Anyone may nominate a business for an award or they may nominate themselves.

Other criteria specific to each of the awards are detailed on their respective nomination forms.

Forms are available from the Small Business Center in Room 108 of the Walnut Building on the college’s main campus, by contacting Linda Berard at (919) 739.6940 or lrberard@waynecc.edu, or by going to www.wayneworksnc.com/small-business-center/.

Nomination packets must be submitted to Center Director Charles Gaylor IV by Oct. 31.

All nominated business will be recognized and the awards will be presented at the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 Annual Banquet to be held on Thursday, January 22, 2015. Tickets for the luncheon will available from the chamber.

For more information on these awards, contact Gaylor at (919) 735-739-6940 or cpgaylor@waynecc.edu.

The Small Business Center is one of the avenues through which the Wayne Business and Industry Center at Wayne Community College offers “on time” and “on target” training, counseling, education, and technical services to business and industry in Wayne County. Other options provided by the WBIC are the WORKS Initiative, Military Business Center, Customized Training Program, career services, and soft skills training.

Wayne Community College is a public, two-year college with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 15,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 100 college credit programs.

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