The Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center is one of the Indiana organizations honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration during its annual National Small Business Week.
The organization, hosted by Purdue University Northwest, will receive the SBA Indiana SBDC Excellence & Innovation Center Award during a May 3 luncheon in Indianapolis.
“It's wonderful recognition for our team and all their work with small businesses and startups in the Region,” said Lorri Feldt, regional director of NW-ISBDC.
National Small Business Week events will take place April 28 through May 4.
“Small business is the backbone of the American economy,” said SBA Indiana District Director Stacey Poynter in a press relase, “and they make up 99.4% of the companies located in our bold state and employ almost half of the workforce.”
The SBA National Small Business Week Awards are well sought after. Indianapolis native DuJuan McCoy is the SBA Indiana Small Business Person of the Year and was a candidate to win the national award. Iam Tucker of Integrated Logistical Support Inc. in Louisiana was named the National Small Business Person of the Year for 2024 during an awards ceremony Monday in Washington, D.C.
“Having launched my entrepreneurial TV Station career back in 2008 (during the financial crisis) via an SBA-backed loan, I am truly honored to receive the 2024 Small Business Person of the Year award for the state of Indiana,” McCoy said. “Thank you to the U.S. Small Business Administration for this incredible honor and for recognizing the great work that we at Circle City Broadcasting continue to do every day!”
Other winners of Indiana awards include:
- SBA Indiana Exporter of the Year – WSI Technologies, Indianapolis – Jim Halsmer, president
- SBA Indiana Women’s Business Center of Excellence – WEOC WBC at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Fort Wayne
“For over 70 years as a federal agency, the SBA has been instrumental supporting their growth through a network of free resources, tools, training, and access to funding,” Poynter said. “But during National Small Business Week, we like to be able to turn up the spotlight on entrepreneurs just a little bit brighter.”
SBA Indiana National Small Business Week's free events and workshops include:
- Roadmap to Small Business Fair at Indianapolis’ John Bonner Neighborhood Centers April 29
- SBA 8(a) Recruitment Summit online workshop May 1
- Powering Rural – The Heartland Tour joint SBA Indiana & USDA Rural Development Business & Cooperative Programs teams making a special National Small Business Week stop in Kokomo on May 3
“We're seeing such great collaboration with federal, state and local partners to make small business resources more accessible than ever,” Feldt said.
The NW-ISBDC is a tenant of the Purdue Technology Center in Crown Point and Merrillville.
Learn more about SBA Indiana here.
