Tim Farmer, Owner of S & W Sports selected as 2011 Small Business Person of the Year
CONCORD, NH – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced its 2011 New Hampshire Small Business Award winners recognizing outstanding small business owners and those who are champions in support of small business owners throughout the state.
Mr. Tim Farmer, owner of S&W Sports, a full service bicycle, ski and snowboard shop located in Concord, NH, has been named New Hampshire’s Small Business Person of the Year for 2011.
Mr. Farmer joined with the nation’s top small businesses in Washington to compete for the honor of National Small Business Person of the Year during the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week celebration, May 18 - 20, 2011. The National Small Business Person of the Year and runners-up were selected from among the 53 state small business winners, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Since he was a young teen, Tim Farmer has had a passion for biking and the pleasures of winter sports. At the age of 13 Mr. Farmer found that he could do odd jobs at the local bike and actually get paid for doing work that he thoroughly enjoyed. Over the course of twenty years, working part time at first and later full-time Tim Farmer, like apprentices of years past soaked in information from many sources. He developed the skills required for making adjustments and repairs to equipment, managing inventories and sales, developing and training employees and above all how to excel in providing top quality customer service.
In 1998, when the opportunity to purchase S & W Sports arose, he seized it. Steadily, with the help of a small but highly talented staff, Tim has been able to grow the business substantially and in doing so he has addressed major challenges. David Kraft, Vice President of KeyBank, who nominated Tim Farmer for this award notes “S & W Sports had grown nicely, but had also spread to three proximate but separate locations. It was a challenge for Tim and his staff to provide the service his customers had come to expect. In 2007, with the help of an SBA loan Tim was able to purchase a former car dealership and consolidate operations into one site with abundant space for sales, service and customer parking.”
“To be recognized by the SBA with this tremendous honor wouldn’t be possible without the enthusiasm and dedication that my staff brings to the business on a daily basis,” said Farmer. “I also owe thanks to the many loyal customers of S & W Sports, who have been and remain the reason we work each day to provide quality products
and excellent service. I am really honored by the SBA and I hope my selection sends a message to other small business owners about their importance to the communities they serve.”, he added.
“Mr. Farmer and the employees at S & W Sports have created a New Hampshire small business success story.” said SBA’s New Hampshire District Director Greta Johansson. “In a challenging economic environment for the retail sales sector they have managed to continue on a path of growth and expansion. Tim has literally grown up in this business and his community and serves as an example of what hard work, and a commitment to providing quality products and services and long term community involvement can produce. “
As a longtime resident of Weare, NH, Tim has been active in numerous civic activities on the local, regional and state level. He has been previously recognized as Citizen of the Year by the Central NH Regional Planning Commission and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Concord YMCA and a member of Concord’s Transportation Policy Advisory Committee which works to advance and promote Concord NH as a bicycle friendly city.
Other Award Winners recognized at the Annual SBA Small Business Awards Luncheon on May 25th included:
Exporter of the Year
Turbocam International of Barrington, NH
Women Owned Business
Café Indigo of Concord, NH
Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business
Grace Limousine of Manchester, NH 03102
Minority Small Business Person of the Year
John Carvalho of JMC and Associate in Sandown, NH
Women’s in Business Champions
Marilinne Cooper and Katy Curnyn of WREN in Bethlehem, NH
Home Based Business Champions
Christopher Purington of Linkabilities in Nashua, NH
Paula Fortier of Opportunities in Amherst, NH
SCORE Counselor of the Year
Sheppard Bartlett of Peterborough, NH
Merrimack Valley Chapter of SCORE in Manchester, NH
Veteran Small Business Champion
Jim Hinson
NH Department of Education Vocational Rehabilitation in Concord, NH
Small Business Development Center - Center of Excellence
Mr. Warren Daniel, NH SBDC Seacoast Regional Office, Rochester, NH
Financial Services Champion
Jay Minkarah, Office of Economic Development, Manchester, NH
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