SBA accepting nominations for national small business awards

Know a small business or business owner that deserves some extra recognition?

The U.S. Small Business Administration New Mexico District Office is looking for nominations for its 2018 National Small Business Week Awards, which includes Small Business Person of the Year.

National Small Business Week has recognized the outstanding achievements of America's small businesses since 1963, for their contributions to local communities and to the United States economy.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In New Mexico, small businesses employ over 55 percent of our state's private workforce," said John Garcia, SBA New Mexico District Director, "As small business grows, so does our economy. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments and impact of our state's small business owners and entrepreneurs."

Visit sba.gov/nm for forms, criteria and guidelines for submitting a nomination. All nominations must be submitted no later than 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Jan. 9, 2018. All nomination packages must be hand-delivered or mailed to the SBA New Mexico District Office with attention to the SBW Awards Coordinator. The street address for the SBA New Mexico District Office is 500 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 11301, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The mailing address for the SBA New Mexico District Office is PO Box 2206, Albuquerque, NM 87103.

Email submissions of SBA Awards forms will not be accepted as they contain personally identifiable information. For more information, contact Ivan Corrales at (505) 248-8227 or ivan.corrales@sba.gov.

SBA Awards given during National Small Business Week, April 29 - May 5, 2018, include the following:

Small Business Person of the Year - One from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.

Small Business Exporter of the Year

Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery

Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery

Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official

Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer

Federal Procurement Awards

Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year

Small Business Subcontractor of the Year

Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence

Graduate of the Year

Jody C. Raskind Lender of the Year

Small Business Investment Company of the Year

Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award

Women's Business Center of Excellence Award

Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award

Winners will be recognized at the state-wide annual New Mexico SBA Small Business Week Awards ceremony held in celebration of SBA National Small Business Week, during the first week of May.