Lillianne Garcia, owner of Lilly Garcia Realtors in Keller, was presented with this year’s Small Business Person of the Year Award by Herbert Austin, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Dallas/Fort Worth District Office.
Garcia is president and owner of Lilly Garcia Realtors. She started her business 15 years ago after being a single mom and experiencing a bad home buying experience. From there she realized she could assist families and educate them on the home buying process and path to achieving the American dream. Lilly’s sales went from $4.5 million in 2015 to $10 million in 2018. Lilly is a graduate of the SBA Emerging Leaders Program and client of the Small Business Development Center.
The SBA honored a total of 12 outstanding small business owners and champions of business at The Spirit of America: 2019 Salute to North Texas Small Business luncheon held on Friday, May 3rd hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
Each winner received an award from Director Austin and was greeted by US Congressman Colin Allred at the luncheon. “This is always an exciting part of the year for SBA, the small businesses, champions and community where we honor our local entrepreneurs and advocates for their great work in business and service to the community” said Austin. “These small companies are the backbone to our economy by creating two out three net new jobs every year.
“ SBA solicited nominations for the awards last fall and winners were selected by a panel of judges” said Ahmad Goree, SBA’s Public Information Officer.
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week will be held May 5 to May 11 . Events are taking place all across the country and feature forums discussing the small business landscape, business coaching services, matchmaking events as well as networking opportunities and award ceremonies. The 2019 National Small Business Person of the Year will be announced this week in Washington, DC.
The following are a complete list of winners from D/FW district:
Small Business Person of the Year
Lillianne Garcia
President CEO
Lilly Garcia Realtors
Keller, Texas
8(a) Firm of the Year
Dagmar Vanessa Tyner
CEO
TNK Services, LLC
Harker Height, TX
Exporter of the Year
Scott Jay Walker
Owner
Walker Cellular LLC dba Walker and Walker Trading
Farmers Branch, Texas
Family Owned Business of the Year
Marci Rosato
Texas Truck A/C/ Inc.
Dallas, Texas
Entrepreneurial Success
Jonathan Lee Garner Berry
Vice President
J Berry Nursery
Grand Saline, Texas
Women Business Champion
Annie Partee Holmes
Director, Minority/Women Business Enterprise Department
Dallas Independent School District
Dallas, Texas 75231
Minority Business Champion
Russell Gregory
Director of Operations & HUB Coordinator
University of North Texas System
Denton, Texas
Veteran Small Business Champion
David Shutler
CEO
Utility Systems Solutions, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
SCORE Chapter of the Year
Fort Worth, SCORE chapter 120.
Bob Siffermann, Chair
Fort Worth, Texas
DFW Community Partners Awards: There are 2 organizations
· DFW Minority Supplier Development Council
Margo Posey President and CEO
Dallas, Texas
· US India Chamber of Commerce
Neel Gonuguntla, President
Dallas, Texas
Small Business Development Center of the Year
North Central Texas SBDC
Brad Bunt, Director
Corinth, Texas