BOWLING GREEN, KY- The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce awarded David Holland, owner of Signature Signs & Advertising Specialties and Suitable for Framing, its prestigious Small Business Person of the Year title at a news conference today.
“David has expanded his business several times since he struck out on his own in 1995. He epitomizes the spirit of small business—hands-on, hard-working, community-involved,” Chamber Board Chair Brad Howard noted in announcing the award. “Between Signature Signs and his retail business, Suitable for Framing, David has also given our community the time and effort it took to make Bowling Green’s Soap Box Derby an institution for our community and some 1,500 kids who have participated,” Howard added.
The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce has named a community member the “Small Business Person of the Year” since 1985. The award recognizes a business leader who owns and operates a for-profit company that employs 100 or fewer full-time employees, who has invested his or her own money in that small business, who has experienced recent business growth, and who is involved in the development and growth of the Bowling Green community. All thirteen nominees for the 2013 honor were present at the Chamber news conference:
David Doran – ISTT, Inc
Mary Meszaros – Mary Jane’s Chocolates
David Holland – Signature Signs & Ad Specialties
Quintin Littrell – Sunbelt Construction, Inc.
Mike Hughes – Cambridge Market & Café
Mike Fuqua – Party 1 Superstore
Mike Coffee & Warren Guyer – BlueCotton
Thomas Thompson – Southern Kentucky Oral Surgery Associates
David Paschall – Batteries Plus
Phil & Ferrell Price – Harris Lumber Company
Robert Holderfield – Southern Kentucky Pie Inc./dba Mellow Mushroom
Bob Scheidegger –Control Systems Design & Automation, Inc.
Susan Hoechner – Barbara Stewart Interiors
“The selection committee faced a very difficult decision, as it does every year,” Chamber President and CEO Ron Bunch observed. “The caliber of our small business community is so outstanding, it makes recognizing one difficult. But it’s important that we honor small business leaders, because owning and growing a small business is valuable to our economy and our quality of life.”
Past recipients of the Small Business Person of the Year Award are:
Mike Simpson (2012)
Regina Webb (2011)
Thad F. Connally, III (2010)
Joe Davis (2009)
Carl Chaney (2008)
Jim Smith (2007)
David Chandler (2006)
Chris Thompson (2005)
Tim Earnhart (2004)
Janet Henderson (2003)
Jim Johnson (2002)
Steve Sheldon (2001)
Doug Gorman (2000)
Curt Sullivan (1999)
David Bradford (1998)
Mike Murphy (1997)
Joe Natcher (1996)
Al Baker (1995)
David Wiseman (1994)
Rick Kelley (1993)
Harold Brantley (1992)
Mike Buchanon (1991)
Bill Jackson (1990)
Cornelius Martin (1989)
B.J. Booth (1988)
Carroll Hildreth (1987)
Sandy Jones (1986)
Johnny Webb (1985)
Holland will be honored at the Chamber’s Small Business Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday, May 21, 2012 at the Knicely Conference Center sponsored by Overhead Door Company of Bowling Green. The event is the highlight of Small Business Appreciation Month, which is organized by the Chamber’s Small Business Appreciation Committee. To attend the luncheon, online registration is required at www.bgchamber.com. Individual tickets are $30 and tables of eight are $240.
The recognition luncheon is one of several events that comprise Small Business Appreciation Month which includes the Chamber Golf Challenge on Monday, May 6, and the Women in Business Breakfast sponsored by The Medical Center and Harned, Bachert & McGehee, PSC on Thursday, May 23.
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About the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
Incorporated in 1935, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is a 5-Star Accredited Chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was named the 2009 Chamber of the Year by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. As the fourth largest chamber in Kentucky, the Chamber serves as a premier business advocate for its more than 1,100 partners and is the driving force for economic development in South Central Kentucky. Its primary goals are to promote growth and success in the business community, reaching its small business partners and those in large industries alike. With leadership programs, governmental relations projects, educational initiatives and involvement opportunities, the Chamber aims to support the community and its neighbors in order to enhance the business climate and continue to grow the region.