Contact: Shirah Apple, Rachel.apple@sba.gov, 414-841-7013
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs & Instagram
Recognition for Women Executives Announced during Women’s History Month
MADISON–The U.S. Small Business Administration will honor two Madison-area winners during National Small Business Week May 5-11. They are among 17 small businesses and champions from around Wisconsin to be recognized.
Jessica Cavazos, president and CEO of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County, is Wisconsin’s Minority Small Business Champion. She joined the Latino Chamber in 2016 and has sought to promote economic development and job creation to the Latino community as economic stakeholders. She has served on many national boards and local boards and was named one of the most powerful Latinos in Wisconsin.
Laura Gallagher is Wisconsin’s Women in Business Champion. She is president of The Creative Company and the North American regional ambassador and spokesperson for Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a global movement. She has brought this highly successful international event to Wisconsin for the past two years, attracting the highest number of participants in any U.S. city both years.
Eric Ness, SBA’s Wisconsin district director, congratulated them, saying, “Wisconsin’s 448,000 small business owners can find inspiration and resources for their own success with these two champions and Wisconsin’s 2019 National Small Business Week award winners. They are creating jobs, driving innovation, and increasing America’s global competitiveness. We look forward to celebrating them at the state’s 34th annual SCORE/SBA Awards Breakfast on May 10 at the Marriott Milwaukee West in Waukesha.”
Other Wisconsin winners include:
Milwaukee area
Small Business Person of the Year-Stacy Tuschl, The Academy of Performing Arts-Oak Creek and Franklin
Small Business Exporter of the Year-Doug Buch, PaveDrain, LLC, Milwaukee
8(a) Graduate of the Year-Manisha Dotson, Nisha Group LLC, Milwaukee
Young Entrepreneur-Ben Caya, Spike Brewing LLC, Milwaukee
Financial Services Champion-Joanne Freitag, Parrish & Freitag, Ltd, Paddock Lake
Veterans Small Business Champion-Curtis Schmitt, Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce, Milwaukee
Small Business Legal Assistance-Kristen Roeper, Godfrey and Kahn, S.C., Milwaukee
SCORE Mentor-Joan Burke, SCORE Southeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Kenosha: Emerging Small Business-Nicole Centeno, K9 Kibble LLC
Appleton: Regional Subcontractor of the Year-Dave Reiter, A to Z Machine Company
Western Wisconsin
Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Small Business-Ruth Johnston, Matthew Johnston, Croix Gear and Machining, Hudson
Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Center Award-Danielle Campeau, Katherine Fossler, Julie Fronmueller, Small Business Development Center at UW-River Falls
Women’s Business Center of Excellence-Karman Briggs, Western Wisconsin Women’s Business Center, Eau Claire
Each year since 1963, the President has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. National Small Business Week is set as the first week in May, and this year the dates are May 5-11. After the national awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., SBA Administrator Linda McMahon will continue the week meeting with local entrepreneurs, visiting small businesses, and holding roundtable discussions with community leaders in Florida, Texas and Utah.
