Chamber News
The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce held their first ever Celebrating Small Business Award & Luncheon event at The Hilton Fort Collins earlier today, April 25, 2012. Over 30 companies were nominated to receive the Small Business of the Year Awards with only two awards being given, one for a company with 1-10 employees and one for a company with11-50 employees.
The award for the company with 1-10 employees was presented to Shaw & Associates. Shaw & Associates offer comprehensive business services including tax preparation and consultation, full accounting, bookkeeping services, training and financial planning including securities and life insurance. Shaw & Associates was opened by Kevin Shaw in 1997.
The award for the company with 11-50 employees was presented to The Cupboard. The Cupboard is a 10,000 square foot kitchen specialty store that has been a downtown institution inFort Collinssince 1972. Carey Hewitt, current President, has been actively involved in the business since 1972 and in 2007 his son, Jim, became a welcome partner in the business.
Finalists for the awards also included: AlphaGraphics, Brinkman Partners, MazTech & All-Tech Automotive and Palmer Flowers. The finalists and winners were selected from the nominees by a panel of eight Chamber members.
The luncheon featured Master of Ceremonies Mark Driscoll, First National Bank, Keynote Speaker Lacy Edwards, Executive in Residence at Rocky Mountain Innosphere and Award Presenters Donna Chapel, Chapel & Collins, alongside David May, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce.
The luncheon celebrated small businesses and their contributions toFort Collinswhile kicking off the annual Spring Showcase.
About the Small Business of the Year Award: For this award, a small business is defined as an independently owned and operated business headquartered in northern Colorado that is organized for profit. The business is required to have 200 employees or fewer to be eligible. To receive a Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award, the company must be a member of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce at the time the award is presented and have been in business three years. Businesses were judged on: community involvement and stewardship, commitment to good business practices, overall business growth, innovation, and workplace culture and employee relations.
About the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce: The Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce is a champion for business, the regional economy and the greaterFort Collins area.
Owned and led by its members, the Chamber is an active and forward-focused organization of 1,000 members. Member businesses are of all sizes and types ranging from sole proprietors to large multi-national corporations and from locally owned retailers to internationally renowned high tech firms. For more information, visit www.FortCollinsChamber.com.
