Brooklyn's Progress
January 2005

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Small Business Administration will mark National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C., April 26-28, 2005, with SBA Expo ’05 showcasing Small Business Persons of the Year winners from each state, and featuring the announcement of the National Small Business of the Year.

Fredderick Graves, Director of the NYC Business Solutions Center, was one of five judges reviewing nominations for New York State's 2004 Small Business Person of the Year.  The state winner will go on to compete for the country's most prestigious small business award -- National Small Business Person of the Year.

National Small Business Week honors some of the nation’s estimated 25 million small business owners that have helped to drive the nation’s economy.  Small businesses employ more than half the country's private work force, create three of every four new jobs and generate a majority of American innovations.

SBA Expo ’05 will also feature special events that include a small business expo, a business matchmaking event, business seminars, a town hall meeting and award ceremonies honoring America’s top entrepreneurs and state and national small business winners.  Other highlights will include notable speakers and business industry leaders from trade associations, and local and federal governments. 

One of the cornerstone events of SBA Expo ’05 will be the SBA’s “Hall of Fame” that will recognize some of the country’s most successful companies that started with SBA assistance.  The “Hall of Fame” was inaugurated during the SBA’s golden anniversary in 2003.  More than twenty U.S. companies hold the honor of being inducted into the SBA’s “Hall of Fame,” many of which have become international leaders in their field.  The “Hall of Fame” inductees for 2004 included Columbia Sportswear, Herr Foods Inc. and the Quizno’s Master LLC.

The SBA has helped more than 20 million Americans start, grow, and expand their businesses, and has made more than $211 billion in direct or guaranteed loans to entrepreneurs.  National Small Business Week was first observed in 1963, 10 years after the formation of the SBA.
SBA Expo ’05 will mark the 42nd annual commemoration National Small Business Week.

Information on SBA Expo ’05 can be found online at www.sba.gov/expo.