SBA Administrator Guzman Announces 2024 National Small Business Week Award Winners

Georgia Small Businesses Spectrum International Group LLC and Unified Defense | Prince Service & Manufacturing to be Honored at National Ceremony to Kick Off Week of Small Business Celebration

Today, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced the National Small Business Week (NSBW) 2024 Award Winners, including Georgia’s Small Business Person of the Year, and other business owners, leading partners, and advocates who embody the grit and determination that power our nation’s economy and ensure disaster-impacted communities can recover. This year’s NSBW will take place April 28 – May 4, 2024.

“Our 2024 National Small Business Week award winners exemplify excellence, innovation, and commitment, and the SBA is proud to showcase their incredible achievements and impact on their communities and our economy,” said Administrator Guzman. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, more Americans than ever before are pursuing the American dream of business ownership and able to access more opportunities, with historic investments in communities across America in local infrastructure, broadband, manufacturing, innovation, and clean energy. National Small Business Week is the nation’s opportunity to lift up the amazing entrepreneurs, small business advocates, local partners, advisors, lenders, and investors who support America’s entrepreneurial spirt and the historic Biden-Harris Small Business Boom.”

Georgia Winners

Georgia’s Small Business Person of the Year is Eric Williams, President and CEO of Unified Defense and Prince Service & Manufacturing, two manufacturing companies Williams operates as a single entity in Middle Georgia. His companies manufacture and provide metal components to defense and commercial sectors. Williams received $2.2 million in SBA loans to help finance and expand his organization, including the acquisition of Prince Service & Manufacturing in 2022.

“Unified Defense and Prince Service & Manufacturing is a great example of a small business that is helping power the local economy in middle Georgia by creating and adding jobs to a rural area,” said Terri Denison. “Rural areas rely on small businesses to employ more than 54 percent of workers, and Eric’s personal mission is to help make his rural community a great place to both live and work.”

The SBA’s 2024 National Exporter of the Year is Oscar Felipe Arroyave, President and Founder of Atlanta-based Spectrum International Group, LLC. The company designs, manufactures and sells specialty contact lenses to over 65 countries around the world. Spectrum received an SBA COVID EIDL loan during the pandemic that provided working capital to reach new markets and invest in technology. Additionally, the company has worked with the Small Business Development International Trade Center for SBA loan assistance and received an SBA State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant funding in 2022 to help with exports.

“We are excited to congratulate Spectrum International Group’s Founder Oscar Felipe Arroyave for representing the state of Georgia and being named the SBA’s 2024 National Exporter of the Year. Georgia has experienced three consecutive record-breaking years for exports, with companies such as Spectrum exporting nearly $50 billion in goods to 215 unique countries and territories. Spectrum is a shining example of how leveraging SBA resource partners and programs can help small businesses expand their global footprint.”

Award Ceremonies

The NSBW Award Ceremonies will take place April 28 – 29, 2024 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Washington, D.C.​, where Administrator Guzman will recognize the national award winners and individual state winners, and also announce the top honor of National Small Business Person of the Year from among the individual state winners. Administrator Guzman will then launch a roadshow tour from April 30 – May 3, 2024, which will include stops in Manchester, N.H., Milwaukee, Wis., Denver, Colo., and Billings, Mont. Administrator Guzman will be joined by local leaders to honor award-winning small businesses and discuss SBA initiatives and opportunities for the small business community. The week-long National Small Business Week celebration will also feature a virtual summit co-hosted by SCORE, mentors to America’s small businesses.

In Georgia, an awards luncheon will be held in Metro Atlanta in early May honoring the Georgia Small Business Person of the Year, Georgia Exporter, and other local award winners from the state.

 2024 State Small Business Persons of the Year:

In addition to state-level recognition, national awards will also be presented in the following categories to the following:

Small Business Exporter of the Year:

• Spectrum International Group, LLC, Atlanta, GA

Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery: 

• Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery: The Coffee Shoppe, Selma, AL
• Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official: Dirk Joseph Guidry, Chauvin, LA
• Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer: Leanne Rogers Lovell, Wynne, AR

Federal Procurement Awards: 

• Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year: Action Manufacturing Company, Bristol, PA
• Small Business Subcontractor of the Year: Knowledge Based Systems, Inc., College Station, TX
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence – Services (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors): Jacobs, Greenwood Village, CO
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence – Construction (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors): Bechtel Corporation, New York, NY
• 8(a) Graduate of the Year: Johnson’s Consulting dba Cetechs, Mesa, AZ

Awards to SBA Resource Partners: 

• SCORE Chapter of the Year Award: SCORE SE Wisconsin Chapter, Milwaukee, WI
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award: Aurora-South Metro Small Business Development Center, Aurora, CO
• Women’s Business Center of Excellence Award: Great Lakes Women’s Business Council, Southfield, MI
• Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year: Mississippi State University VBOC, Starkville, MS

Small Business Investment Company of the Year:

• Emerging Manager:  Mizzen Capital, LP, Stamford, CT
• Established Manger:  Argosy Private Equity, Wayne, PA

Surety Bond Agent of the Year:

• KOG International, Inc., Enola, PA

For more information about National Small Business Week, visit www.sba.gov/NSBW. Media interested in scheduling interviews with Administrator Guzman should contact press_office@sba.gov.

Cosponsorship Authorization # 24-1-C. SBA’s participation in this Cosponsored Activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any Cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. 

For additional National Small Business Week information visit www.sba.gov/NSBW.