WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NSBA has named Raymond Arth, President of Phoenix Products, Inc. in Avon Lake, Ohio as the 2013 Lew Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year. Arth was recognized alongside four finalists for the award, representing various industries from across the country. The award ceremony took place on Monday, March 18 in Washington, D.C.

"I can't think of a more deserving, hard-working small-business advocate than Raymond Arth," stated NSBA President Todd McCracken. "He has been a staple in local, regional, state and federal small-business advocacy efforts and has spent countless hours selflessly pushing for policies that help all small businesses - not just those that help his own business."

Mr. Arth has built a reputation as a pragmatic, thoughtful representative of small business and has continued to stay involved and engaged in numerous small-business organizations for more than 30 years. In addition to his advocacy efforts, Mr. Arth has fostered a strong manufacturing business through a period when many others have folded.

Mr. Arth has testified before Congress and the Ohio Legislature many times, and has held myriad leadership positions locally and nationally, including with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) and NSBA. Phoenix Products was designated a Family Firm of Distinction by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in 1998, and Arth was named 1997 Small Business Person of the Year by the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce. In 2001, he was honored with the Entrepreneurship Leadership award by COSE and The Rotary Club of Cleveland.

"Raymond is the epitome of a small-business advocate," stated NSBA Chair David Ickert of Air Tractor, Inc., in Olney, Texas. "Recognizing his years of advocacy on behalf of NSBA is as much an honor for us as it is for him."

NSBA also recognized: Dr. Raymond Jardine, Jr. of Native Hawaiian Veterans, LLC, Michael Canty of Alloy Bellows & Precision Welding, Inc., Socorro Harvey of NVision Solutions and John Hexter of Hexter Consulting as finalists for their outstanding advocacy.

Celebrating more than 75 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America's entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation's first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz.

SOURCE National Small Business Association