The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana

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Chamber Names Small Business Award Recipients

The 2009 Chamber Small Business Awards, presented by Welborn Health Plans, took place on Thursday, March 12 at The Centre. 

This was the inaugural year of The Chamber Small Business Awards.  The Chamber Small Business Awards celebrate small businesses and the contributions they make to our communities and economy.

There were over 75 nominations this year and a committee of independent judges narrowed the field to five nominees per category.  Five finalists from each category were recognized and one recipient in each category was presented with the award at The Small Business Awards ceremony. 

2009 Give Back Award:  Firefly Southern Grill

Since starting Firefly Southern Grill, located at 6636 Logan Drive in Evansville, several years ago, Scott Wylie and his partner Josh Armstrong have made business decisions that have taken into account the benefit to their community.  They volunteer on several non-profit boards in the Tri-State and spend much of their free time donating to and supporting regional economic development and community development efforts.  They were recently awarded the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2008, a prestigious award from Wine Spectator magazine and have agreed to share their secrets of success with other local restaurants so that they (the restaurants) can also enjoy recognition.  They have truly energized the local community with their quality food and hospitality.  

The finalists for the Give Back Award were:
C. Larry Rhodes Insurance Agency
ECS Solutions, Inc.
Firefly Southern Grill
Just Rennie’s, LLC
Tracy Zeller Jewelry  

2009 Entrepreneur of the Year Award:  Tracy Zeller Jewelry

Tracy Zeller jewelry, inc., located on Evansville’s Westside at 111 S. Red Bank Rd in Evansville, Indiana, opened for business on August 2, 2004 offering fine jewelry to Tri-State residents. This 2,880 sq. foot facility provides 33 showcases of unique jewelry selections made in gold, platinum and Italian sterling silver, most merchandise with diamonds and precious stones. The fully-equipped Jeweler’s Studio houses two jewelers who are professionally trained to service the entire spectrum from basic repairs to custom design to manufacturing.   In July of 2005, Tracy Zeller introduced Tracy Zeller home which is located in the same complex. Tracy Zeller home offers “jewelry for your home”, including custom floral arrangements, home accent pieces, artwork, a private label signature candle and much more.   In May of 2006 the corporation was renamed Tracy Zeller enterprises, inc. and on June 1st introduced its 3rd venture. By joining forces with Krista Loewen, marketing, a division of Tracy Zeller enterprises, inc. was formed.   In November, 2008, Tracy Zeller enterprises debuted it’s 4th venture, the Tracy Zeller holiday showroom at Eastland Mall.  Opened only for the holiday season, the holiday showroom markedly increased the visibility and reach of the Tracy Zeller brand, while bringing new team members and clients into the Tracy Zeller family.  

The finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award were:
American Legacy Fishing Company, LLC
Americas Engineers, Inc.
Ma T 888 China Bistro
Planning Forever Events
Tracy Zeller Jewelry  

2009 Non-Profit of the Year Award:  WNIN-Channel 9 & FM88.3 Radio

WNIN-Channel 9 & FM88.3 Radio is more than a public broadcaster of nationally recognized programming from NPR and PBS.  WNIN is a community partner working side by side with you to bring you local content about issues you and your family care about.  Whether in the area of Education, Health, Business, Government or Arts & Culture, WNIN is there to help the Tri-State be the best place it can be.

The finalists for the Non-Profit of the Year Award were:
Community Marriage Builders
Leadership Evansville
SWIRCA
WNIN-Channel 9 & FM88.3 Radio         
Youth First, Inc.  

2009 Small Business of the Year Award:  Woodward Commercial Realty

Woodward Commercial Realty, located at 4763 Rosebud Lane in Newburgh, is one of the Tri-State’s leaders in commercial real estate sales, business brokerage and real estate development.  As a full service commercial real estate company, Woodward provides its customers with the opportunity to use the expertise and experience of our professionals with over 200 years of combined experience.  Woodward has a staff of eight full time commercial sale consultants dealing exclusively in commercial real estate and business brokerage.  Combine this with an architectural and engineering design service and construction management personnel, and you have a diverse team of knowledgeable people. Woodward has been actively involved in real estate in the Tri-State area for over 20 years.  It has been involved in over 100 million dollars in commercial real estate transactions within the last ten years, bringing hundreds of prospective buyers and sellers together.   

The finalists for the Small Business of the Year Award were:
AlphaGraphics
Basinski, LLC
ECS Solutions, Inc.
Sitco, LLC
Woodward Commercial Realty  

Click here to view the criteria for each award. 

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