U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa presented the keynote address at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 2.
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce paid tribute to the companies that keep the economy moving forward at its inaugural Small Business Awards Luncheon
The event, titled “The Engine that Does: Small Business is Unstoppable” took place on Friday, May 2 at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa, 5480 Grand Pacific Drive. It featured a keynote address from U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa.
The Chamber presented trophies in the following categories:
Small Business of the Year: Little Cakes Cupcake Kitchen
Retail Business of the Year: Carlsbad Danish Bakery
Professional Services: Morrison Insurance Services, Inc.
Best Support Staff: Gaye Wiseman, Consolidated Construction Services
Innovative Product or Service: Signature Hand Engraving and YourOpsManager (tie)
Excellence in Customer Service: FMT Consultants, LLC
Entrepreneurial Spirit Award: Fernando Beltran Lupi, Believe in Signs
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The event celebrated the spirit of entrepreneurship, and the perseverance of small-business owners, who were able to weather tough economic times to grow their businesses, add jobs and grow the local economy.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses make up more than 99.7 percent of all employers in the country, and small businesses employ more than half of all private sector workers.
“The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce created this small business awards program to honor the best of the best in business,” said Ahmed Haque of NRG Energy Inc., the Chamber’s vice chairman of economic development.
About 85 percent of the Chamber’s more than 1,500 members are small businesses with 10 or fewer employees.
“Our honorees are proof that hard work, determination and a can-do attitude can be the difference between success and failure,” said Ted Owen, president and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “Not a down economy, not ‘doom and gloom’ reports nor a climate that made it hard to do business in the state could keep these businesses down. They just kept chugging along.”
The Chamber also inducted the first members of the Carlsbad Chamber Hall of Fame, a new effort that pays tribute to the Chamber’s longest-serving members, who, as Haque noted, “serve as mentors, role models and resources to the hundreds of small-business owners in the Chamber.”
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The members of the inaugural class are Ofie Escobedo (Lola’s 7-Up Market and Deli), Gene Forsyth (Forsyth & Associates Insurance Agency) and John “Big John” Haedrich (Tip Top Meats & European Delicatessen).
NRG Energy, Inc. was presenting sponsor of the event. Other event sponsors were AlphaGraphics; Datron Holdings, Inc.; Grand Pacific Resorts, Inc.; William J. King Insurance Services, Inc.; TaylorMade Golf Co.; Tri-City Medical Center; and Wells Fargo.
“Our honorees are proof that hard work, determination and a can-do attitude can be the difference between success and failure,” said Ted Owen, president and CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “Not a down economy, not ‘doom and gloom’ reports nor a climate that made it hard to do business in the state could keep these businesses down. They just kept chugging along.”
The Chamber also inducted the first members of the Carlsbad Chamber Hall of Fame, a new effort that pays tribute to the Chamber’s longest-serving members, who, as Haque noted, “serve as mentors, role models and resources to the hundreds of small-business owners in the Chamber.”
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The members of the inaugural class are Ofie Escobedo (Lola’s 7-Up Market and Deli), Gene Forsyth (Forsyth & Associates Insurance Agency) and John “Big John” Haedrich (Tip Top Meats & European Delicatessen).
NRG Energy, Inc. was presenting sponsor of the event. Other event sponsors were AlphaGraphics; Datron Holdings, Inc.; Grand Pacific Resorts, Inc.; William J. King Insurance Services, Inc.; TaylorMade Golf Co.; Tri-City Medical Center; and Wells Fargo.