The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Dallas/Fort Worth District Office announced its 2016 Small Business and Champion Award Winners.
Local winners include: Financial Services Champion of the Year, James L. Stokes Jr., executive director of Alliance Lending Corp. in Fort Worth; Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year, Patrick E. Alcorn, business consultant, Texas Veterans Commission in Arlington; Woman in Business Champion of the Year, Barbara Jo Jones, president of BRJ Paving Inc. in Burleson; and SCORE Chapter of the Year, Fort Worth SCORE Chapter 120.
Other winners are: Small Business Person of the Year, Brian Walser, president of Brian’s Plumbing Inc., Wichita Falls; Small Business Exporter of the Year, Robert C. Gokey, owner of Triple B Food, Richardson; 8(a) Graduate of the Year, Samar Bashir, president of SMR Construction Inc., Richardson; Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Quinton B. Thomas, president of EON Consulting LLC, Denton; Family Owned Business of the Year, Dr. Danny Clarke, owner of Clarke Eye Care Center, Wichita Falls; Minority Small Business Champion of the Year, Mike Mora, project director, MBDA Business Center, Dallas; and Small Business Development Center of the Year, Kilgore SBDC, Kilgore.
The SBA will honor these 11 small business owners and champions of business May 5 during SBA’s National Small Business Week at the Salute to Small Business Luncheon, hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. The local winners will compete on the regional level then if selected, they will move on to the national competition.
For more information about the luncheon contact Henry Lewczyk at 817-543-4284 or hlewczyk@arlingtontx.com.