John C. Woosley, District Director, SBA NM District Office

The New Mexico District of the U.S. Small Business Administration is soliciting nominations for several awards that aim to highlight the achievements and entrepreneurial spirit of the state’s small business owners and supporters. Awards will be presented next spring at the annual New Mexico Small Business Week event, and winners may advance to regional and then national competitions and be recognized at the agency’s national Small Business Week celebration in May 2011.

The awards have been given every year since 1963 to recognize the important role and contributions of America’s small businesses and to acknowledge the importance of creating an environment in which entrepreneurs can prosper.

In 2010, New Mexico – a state with less than 1 percent of the nation’s population – brought home two of the 15 national Small Business Week awards – 13 percent of the total.

How to nominate

Each state selects one state winner for Small Business Person of the Year. In addition, a number of individuals are recognized for their involvement in government contracting, disaster recovery and support of small businesses and entrepreneurship. Awards also go to SBA partners in financial and entrepreneurial development, including best SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Chapter, Small Business Development Center and Women’s Business Center. A full list of the many award categories is available at the SBA website at www.sba.gov/nm.

Nominations start in the district offices. Any individual, trade association, chamber of commerce, business organization or government agency can nominate someone for any one of the awards. Deadline for nominations is Nov. 12, 2010.

To nominate someone for one of these awards, individuals are asked to contact Susan Chavez at (505-248-8236) or Sandra Duran Poole (505-248-8233) at the SBA’s New Mexico District Office (505-248-8225) or visit the SBA website for information and required forms. The SBA NM District office is located at 625 Silver Ave. S.W., Suite 320, Albuquerque, NM, 87109.

Tips for nominators

The awards are highly competitive and nominees do not have the opportunity to upgrade their packages if they are under consideration at the regional or national level. Therefore, nominators are urged to start the documentation process right away. Judges need as much supporting citations as possible (letters of recommendation, media articles and other information) to demonstrate why the nominee deserves the award.

Incomplete or poorly organized nomination packages cannot be considered. Several award nominations require submission of three years of financial statements for the nominee. Since statements alone don’t always represent the complete financial picture of the business, nominators are encouraged to provide additional data if possible and explain what the data means.

The nomination package should look professional. An original 8-by-10-inch or 5-by-7-inch photo of the nominee — or a digital photo of at least 300 dots per inch resolution — is also required.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges that includes business leaders, small business lenders, small business service providers, and representatives of the small business community. All nomination information is kept confidential.

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