Vermont Business Magazine The Small Business Administration announced the 2016 Vermont small business award winners today. The top prize, the Vermont Small Business Person of the Year, is awarded to Tom Stearns, High Mowing Organic Seeds founder and owner. He is being recognized for growing his company, increasing sales, employee growth and contributing to the local community. High Mowing Organic Seeds is a farm-based company located in Wolcott that produces and distributes vegetable, flower and herb seeds throughout the US and Canada. High Mowing Organic Seeds is the first organic company guaranteeing all of its seeds are non-genetically modified organism verified.
Tom Stearns, High Mowing Organic Seeds founder and owner.
Stearns launched his company in 1996, and in its first year sales were $2,000. By 2001, business had grown to such an extent Stearns began to contract with other local farmers to grow his seeds. Twenty years later his company has grown to be one of the top organic seed companies in the U.S., and today has more than 60 employees.
The other 2016 Vermont winners are Mansfield Heliflight as the Exporter of the Year, Shat Acres Highland Cattle as the Family-Owned Small Business of the Year, Sweet Crunch Bakeshop & Catering Company as the Woman-Owned Business of the Year, Power Play Sports as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Snug Life as the Micro-Enterprise of the Year and Desai Management Consulting as the Minority-Owned Business of the Year.
Each year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.
“Small business owners represent the best of the best and showcase daily their entrepreneurial spirit and what it takes to be successful in today’s evolving and competitive business environment,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Stearns and the 49 other state winners are invited to attend the ceremonies in Washington, D.C. May 1 to 2 where they will be awarded their individual awards, along with the naming of the 2016 National Small Business Person of the Year.
"There are more than 28 million small businesses serving as the economic engine of our country, employing half of the private sector and creating two out of three net new jobs. If our small business sector was a country, its output would rank number three above Germany and Japan. I'm looking forward to welcoming these talented entrepreneurs to their nation's capital and celebrating their stories to shine a light on American ingenuity and innovation," said Contreras-Sweet.
In the spring, all of the Vermont small business winners will receive their awards during the 2016 Vermont Small Business Awards Ceremony cohosted by Vermont Business Magazine at the Shelburne Museum Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education located in Shelburne, Vt. The ceremony is open to the public and registration will be available in May.
2016 Small Business Person of the Year Winners
ALABAMA
Xiomara Hernandez Bracken
Owner
Bouncing Parties, Inc.
ALASKA
Connie Core-Dubay
CEO/Owner
Cold Spot Feeds, Inc.
ARIZONA
Paul A. Smiley
President
Sonoran Technology and Professional
Services, LLC
ARKANSAS
Regina Renee Radke
CEO
Wade Stuart Radke
COO
Galley Support Innovations
CALIFORNIA
Helen Margaret Russell
Co-Founder and CEO
Brooke Jean McDonnell
Co-Founder and President
Equator Coffees and Teas, Inc.
COLORADO
Reed Howard Silberman
Founder/CEO
Ink Monstr
CONNECTICUT
Peter Newman
CEO
Victoria Newman
Executive Director
Greenwich Education Group
DELAWARE
Chris J. Bisaha
Joseph A. Baker
Co-Owners
Henlopen City Oyster House
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Robert C. Palmer
CEO
Creative Business Solutions, Inc.
FLORIDA
Sherry L. Acanfora-Ruohomaki
Owner/President
K9 Kampus LLC
GEORGIA
Catherine A. Downey
CEO
CATMEDIA, Inc.
GUAM
David J. John
President
ASC Trust Corporation
HAWAII
Raymond Jardine Jr.
Chairman & CEO
Native Hawaiian Veterans, LLC
IDAHO
Enrique F. Contreras
Ana M. Paz
Owners
Conpaz Inc. dba Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant
ILLINOIS
Dwayne Steven Jackson
President & CEO
Software Tech Enterprises, Inc.
INDIANA
Baziel W. Vrient
President
Albert W. Vrient
Operations Manager
Agdia, Inc.
IOWA
Anthony D. Halsted
Owner
Hoover’s Hatchery Co., LLC
KANSAS
Roger Lee Ward III
Dana Marie Ward
Owners
Great Day Moving (Marathon Moving & Delivery LLC)
KENTUCKY
David Allen Dafoe
Founder/CEO
8th Street Ventures
Dba Flavorman, dba Distilled Spirits
Epicenter
LOUISIANA
Angela O’Byrne
President/Owner
Perez, APC
MAINE
Margo Walsh
Owner
Maine Works LLC
MARYLAND
Patrick Babasola Munis
CEO
NewWave Telecom & Technologies, Inc.
MASSACHUSETTS
Robert Jacob George
Founder, President and CEO
StratComm, Inc.
MICHIGAN
Russell Beaver
President
RB Construction Company
MINNESOTA
Gloria Jean Freeman
CEO
Olu’s Home/Olu’s Center
MISSISSIPPI
Mike Pornovets
Owner
Everything Kayak LLC
MISSOURI
David Laurence Bailey
Founder & President
Baileys’ Restaurants
MONTANA
Greg Thayer
CEO
Eugene Thayer
Director
Montana Merchandising, Inc.
Dba Montana Milling, Inc.
NEBRASKA
Yolanda F. Diaz
Member/Owner
Little Miss Fashion LLC
NEVADA
Bradley J. Burdsall
Owner and Operator
The Egg Works
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Elie El-Chalfoun
Owner/Operator
Mega-X
NEW JERSEY
Charles Olivo
Founder and Principal
Stonefield Engineering and Design LLC
NEW MEXICO
Karl S. Halpert
President & CEO
Private Label Select Ltd. Co.
NEW YORK
Tammy Ann Loewy
Wynde Kate Reese
Owners
Green Goddess Foods LLC
NORTH CAROLINA
Charles Ashton Creech
President
Thomas Howard Chappell
Vice President – Maintenance
Plus Team
NS Aviation, LLC dba North State Aviation
NORTH DAKOTA
Jon Simmers
CEO
Bismarck Aero Center
OHIO
Sally Hughes
CEO
Caster Connection
OKLAHOMA
Ellis “Lanny” McIntosh
Founding Principal, CEO
The McIntosh Group
OREGON
Jeremy Murfin
Geoff Mets
Johnpaul Simonet
Owners/Members
5.S.G. LLC dba Five Star Guitars
PENNSYLVANIA
Dr. Wei-Shin Lai
Chief Executive Officer
AcousticSheep LLC
PUERTO RICO
Fernando J. Rodriguez
President
Prime Janitorial Service Corp.
RHODE ISLAND
Thomas Parsons Kellogg III
President
Parsons Kellogg LLC
SOUTH CAROLINA
JoAnne LaBounty
President
Spartanburg Meat Processing Co., Inc.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Janet R. Eining
Owner
Cellular Only Connection, Inc.
TENNESSEE
Terence Andrew Douglas
President
Alliant Corporation
TEXAS
Yolanda Arriola
President and CEO
Southwest University at El Paso
UTAH
Jay Benjamin Broadbent
President
Alpine Home Medical Equipment LLC
VERMONT
Thomas M.L. Stearns
President
High Mowing Organic Seeds
VIRGIN ISLANDS
Brianne B. Beatty
Ryan B. Skinner
Owners
Flagship, LLC
VIRGINIA
Caroline Anne Taylor
RN-President
Taylor Made Diagnostics, Inc.
WASHINGTON
James “Kiwi” Ferris
President
Edensaw Woods, Ltd.
WEST VIRGINIA
Arria Hines
President & CEO
Allegheny Science & Technology Corp.
WISCONSIN
Mark Matthiae
CEO
Crystal Finishing Systems, Inc.
WYOMING
Anthony Andrew Aguiree
President
Triple A Building Services, Inc.