Eighth Annual SCORE Awards Honor Outstanding Small Businesses and Supporters

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses, announces the winners of the 2016 SCORE Awards, which recognize outstanding examples of successful, innovative SCORE clients, as well as important advocates for small business. Winners will be honored at the SCORE Awards gala on September 15, 2016 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hall of Flags in Washington, D.C.

Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot will receive the House Small Business Champion Award and The Honorable Christopher Coons will receive the Senate Small Business Champion Award. As SCORE's top small business awards, these are presented annually to members of Congress in recognition of outstanding advocacy and action, both within Congress and beyond, on behalf of small businesses and their owners.

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey said, "SCORE is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of its outstanding small business clients, as well as the individuals and organizations that support entrepreneurship nationwide. Through their courage and determination to make their dreams a reality, these small business owners are investing in their own bright futures, and profoundly impacting our nation and its economy."

David R. Bobbitt, President of the SCORE Foundation, said, "This year's SCORE Award winners and American Small Business Championship finalists epitomize the positive impact of the 55,000 new businesses that SCORE mentors help to create each year. These main street businesses enliven their communities, create jobs and inspire others to pursue their goals. We congratulate these honorees, and indeed all small business owners who take the leap and follow their dreams."

Congratulations to this year's SCORE Award recipients, who were nominated based on their community impact and strong relationship with their SCORE mentor:

Outstanding Diverse Business, presented by AT&T
GaBBY Bows of Columbia, SC
Mentors: John LaFond & Maxey Love

Outstanding Encore Entrepreneur, presented by by FranNet
Eric & Christopher of Perkasie, PA
Mentors: Tim Fielder, John Small & Ken Haldeman

Outstanding Young Entrepreneur, presented by Deluxe Corporation
Carmel Honey Company of Carmel, CA
Mentor: Lawrence Horan

Outstanding American Manufacturer, presented by Sam's Club
Homestead Beer Co. of Heath, OH
Mentors: John Martin, Ken Williams

Outstanding Community Impact Business, presented by MassMutual
Fit To Recover of Salt Lake City, UT
Mentors: Doug McNeil

Outstanding Franchise Business, presented by The UPS Store
Home Helpers Home Care of Tulsa, OK
Mentors: Joseph Gagliardi and Chris Borne

Outstanding Green Business, presented by Kimco Realty
Zeponic Farms LLC of Springfield, VA
Mentor: Len Johnson

Outstanding Innovative Business, presented by Verisign
Specs4Us of Burton, OH
Mentor: Jon Slaybaugh & Dick Coyne

Outstanding Job Creator Business, presented by Intuit
Barkly of Washington, D.C.
Mentor: Hal Shelton

Outstanding Woman-Owned Business, presented by Constant Contact
Copiosity, LLC of Silver Spring, MD
Mentor: Bruce Gitlin

American Small Business Championship Grand Champion Announced:

The SCORE Awards Gala will also feature a special announcement of the Grand Champion winner of the 2016 American Small Business Championship, who will be presented with a $25,000 grand prize. Made possible by a generous grant from Sam's Club, the American Small Business Championship brought together small business owners and entrepreneurs from across the U.S. 103 finalists were awarded a $1,000 Sam's Club gift card, trips to training events, SCORE mentoring and publicity. A judging panel of small business experts then determined the Grand Champion based on how effectively these prizes were utilized.

The SCORE Awards Gala is open to members of the press. To join us on September 15, 2016 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., please email [email protected]. Learn more at https://www.score.org/content/celebrating-best-small-business.

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs to start and grow their small businesses. Each year, SCORE's 10,000+ volunteer business experts provide 350,000+ free and low-cost small business mentoring services, workshops and education to clients. In 2015, SCORE mentors in 300 chapters volunteered 2.2+ million hours to help create over 45,000 jobs and 55,000 small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org. Follow SCOREMentors on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Information
Betsy Dougert
703-487-3677
[email protected]

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