All Entries in the "Resource Partners" Category

The SBA Celebrates Warwick Ice Cream on National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

“From Cow to Cone”

WARWICK, RI – June 7, 2018, is recognized as National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, and in keeping with the observation the U.S. Small Business Administration highlighted local small business, Warwick Ice Cream. Founded in 1930 by Charlie Bucci, Warwick Ice Cream has been family-owned and operated for 88 years, consistently focusing on locally sourced ingredients and quality product.

Warwick Ice Cream has a long relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration including the use of SBA loan programs for both growth and disaster recovery, participation in technical assistance through programs such as the Emerging Leaders initiative, as well as being named the 2010 Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.

Today, the fourth generation of the Bucci family is leading the way. Thomas Bucci Jr, a recent graduate of the SBA’s Emerging Leaders program, is dedicated to ensuring that Warwick Ice Cream continues to grow but not at the expense of quality, “We source each individual ingredient; our cream comes from local farms here in New England so the dairy for what we are producing next week is still on the farm right now,” said Thomas Bucci Jr. “That process is so close to our facility that it really is from cow to cone,” he added.

The Bucci’s understand that small business cannot necessarily compete with big business prices and have adjusted accordingly, “People think ice cream is ice cream but there are so many different qualities of it,” said Bucci. “Our family’s philosophy is to make the best ice cream, using fresh local ingredients and charge what we have to charge. Bigger companies make their ice cream on a price point where you can get a product for $1.99 but you look at the ingredients statement and you can’t even pronounce the words that are in it,” he affirmed.

For more information on the SBA programs please contact @Ryan.Brissette@sba.gov, or (401) 528-4630.

SBA Selects AVTECH Software of Warren as the 2018 Rhode Island Small Exporter of the Year

Providence, R.I. – The U.S. Small Business Administration has selected AVTECH Software -Michael Sigourney, CEO and Founder; Anne Beaupre Sigourney, CFO; and Richard Grundy, President and COO -as the Rhode Island Small Business Exporter of the Year. AVTECH, located in Warren was founded in 1988 and is a computer hardware and software developer and manufacturer. AVTECH has over 150,000 end users located in over 180 countries, including organizations in every industry and on every continent.

“Nearly 96 percent of the world’s consumers are outside of the United States” said Mark S. Hayward, Rhode Island District Director. “AVTECH has successfully identified key international markets and have become a beacon in Rhode Island exporting. We are proud to have AVTECH as our Small Business Exporter of the Year” he added.

This award is open to any individual who owns and operates a small business for profit, has been in operation for a minimum of three years and is engaged in exporting.

The Rhode Island Small Business Awards will be held at Kirkbrae Country Club, 197 Old River Road, Lincoln, RI 02865 on May 11, and will honor all of the Rhode Island awardees and their exceptional small business accomplishments.

For more information about the awards luncheon please contact Ryan Brissette at 401-528-4630.

Rhode Island Award Winners Honored at SBA’s “Salute to Small Business” Luncheon

LINCOLN, RI – On Friday, May 11, The U.S. Small Business Administration honored the 2018 Rhode Island SBA award winners at the annual “Salute to Small Business” luncheon, hosted by SCORE. Held at Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln, this year’s event was kicked off with spirited remarks from SBA District Director, Mark S. Hayward, and SCORE Chairman, Ed Gromada. Also addressing the near 300 attendees was SBA Regional Administrator, Wendell G. Davis, along with Lieutenant Governor, Daniel J. McKee; Secretary of State, Nellie M. Gorbea; and General Treasurer, Seth Magaziner, all of whom spoke to the vital impact small businesses have on the economy of Rhode Island.

The 2018 SBA awardees consisted of 21 small business owners and champions in 14 diverse categories, including Small Business Person of the Year awardee, Kelly Mendell, President of MIKEL. Located in Middletown, MIKEL is a woman-owned, undersea warfare company that specializes in products and services used in the defense industry. Mendell took over as president of MIKEL in 2008, and has been a client of SBA resource partners, SCORE and The Center for Women & Enterprise. Mendell has also taken advantage of the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants to help further her companies research and development capabilities.

Also honored was the National Subcontractor of the Year, Evans Capacitor Company, located in East Providence. Evans Capacitor, founded by Charles Dewey and David Evans, is a capacitor manufacturer and distributor working in the aerospace and defense sectors. Nominated for the award by Lockheed Martin, Evans continues to display innovation and quality that makes them a leader in their field.

“To have a Rhode Island small business be selected for a national award is a testament to the incredible small business community we have here,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA district director. “The SBA’s Office of Advocacy reports that there are 29.6 million small businesses in the United States and the fact that of all of those businesses the best subcontractor was right here is truly remarkable and well deserved,” he added.

Of the 14 awards recognized, 10 were in the running for regional awards, with Rhode Island businesses securing three of those awards in the categories of Financial Services Champion, Veteran-Owned Small Business, and Woman-Owned Small Business. New England Financial Services Champion was awarded to Buck Harris, Vice-President of Community Lending for Community Investment Corporation (CIC). New England Veteran-Owned Small Business was awarded to John Shepard, Founder and CEO of Veterans Assembled electronics (VAe). Also, New England Woman-Owned Small Business was awarded to Carol Dancer, President of Absorbent Specialty Products.

In a heartfelt moment, Cheryl Watkins Snead, Founder and CEO of Banneker Industries, was posthumously honored with the Rhode Island District Director award. Accepting on her behalf were her sisters Rene Payne and Linda Watkins, as well as protégé Junior Jabbie. Jabbie thanked the SBA for honoring Snead and proclaimed that the day was not to be a solemn one, but rather a celebration of the incredible leader, small business owner, trailblazer, and human being that Snead was.

Year after year the event proves to be a great venue to honor small business excellence in Rhode Island, and this year was no exception. The Rhode Island District Office of the SBA will begin accepting nomination for the 2019 Small Business Awards later this year. For more information or requests for photos from the event contact Ryan Brissette, Public Information Officer, at ryan.brissette@sba.gov or 202-805-9168.

A complete list of Rhode Island SBA award winners can be found below.

SBA Awardees

Small Business Person of the Year – Kelly Mendell, President of MIKEL (Middletown)

Joseph G.E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence – Christine Francis, Owner of Carmen & Ginger (Providence)

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Rhode Island Firm Takes Top Honors in Federal Contracting

 WASHINGTON –Evans Capacitor Company, a firm responsible for the development of capacitor technology for the defense and aerospace industry, from East Providence, R.I., has been named the National Subcontractor of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Evans, along with other national winners and finalists for the National Small Business Person of the Year, will participate in a recognition ceremony at the U.S. Institute of Peace on April 30, during National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C.  SBA Administrator Linda McMahon will present the awards.

The federal government awarded over $99 billion of all federal contracts to small businesses in FY16, which translates to more than 537,000 jobs supporting revenue in the U.S. economy.

The two small businesses were selected from among a strong field of candidates submitted by SBA’s ten regional offices.  The awards honor small businesses that provide outstanding goods or services to the federal government as prime contractors or as subcontractors.

Details on this year’s winner:

• Small Business Subcontractor of the Year:  Evans Capacitor Company of East Providence, R.I.   Before co-founding Evans Capacitor Company with Charles Dewey in 1996, David Evans led the engineering group that developed processes and material for hermetic packaging of capacitors and novel capacitor technologies. Dewey later joined Evans in launching Evans Capacitor to develop capacitor technology for the defense and aerospace industry. Prior to joining Evans Capacitor, Dewey held various management positions in production management, technical marketing and finance with several companies.  Evans Capacitor developed the machining process used in high capacity capacitors and was one of the early developers of high energy density capacitors employing an electrochemical cathode and electrolytic anode.

Evans continues to invent, research and develop the capacitor technology while leading the engineering team at Evans Capacitor and Dewey provides oversight and direction of operations.  The company delivers high power density capacitors to over 100 customers annually, including every major U.S. defense contractor.  It has production facilities in Rhode Island and Maine.  In 2010, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control honored Evans Capacitor for its 100 percent quality and delivery ratings.

For additional information on National Small Business Week, please visit www.sba.gov/nsbw

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.