A new award has been added by the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebration of National Small Business Week 2013. The Small Business Exporter of the Year award will recognize a small business that is successfully engaged in exporting. A national award winner will be selected from among state award winners from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.
In addition, SBA has extended the deadline to submit nominations, via the online portal and in hard copy form, to January 31, 2013.
The announcement of the Small Business Exporter of the Year award will be made during World Trade Month in May 2013. Detailed information including eligibility and required documents for the national Small Business Exporter of the Year award are available at http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-content/3/3074/news/354841.
Nominations for the Small Business Exporter of the Year award are being accepted through the online portal, launched last month, at http://nationalsmallbusinessweek.sba.gov/, and in hard copy.
The dedicated web portal was designed for easy submission and tracking of award nominees for Small Business Week 2013, and is actively accepting nominations of small businesses for each award category.
Hard copy nominations can be sent directly to SBA District Offices, which can be located online at http://www.sba.gov/about-offices-list/2. All nominations must be submitted or postmarked to the SBA by the new deadline of January 31, 2013.
The additional award categories for Small Business Week 2013 are:
- National Small Business Person of the Year (chosen from among state award winners from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam)
- Phoenix Awards (recognizing outstanding accomplishments during disaster recovery)
- Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year
- Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
- The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence (recognizes large prime contractors who have used small businesses as suppliers and contractors)
- SBA 8(a) Graduate of the Year (for recent graduates of the SBA’s 8(a) contracting program)
- Small Business Development Center (SBDC)Excellence and Innovation Award(nominations of SBA-funded SBDC Service Centers)
- Women’s Business Center (WBCs) of Excellence Award(nominations of SBA-funded WBCs)
- Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award (nominations of SBA-funded Veterans Business Outreach Centers)
Award winners for each of the award categories, including the Small Business Exporter of the Year
award, will be invited to Washington, D.C., to receive the national title and to attend National Small Business Week events.