WASHINGTON – Top entrepreneurs from around the country will come together to be recognized for their accomplishments during the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National

Small Business Week celebration, May 23-25, in Washington, D.C. The National Small Business Person of the Year will be named on Tuesday, May 25.

 

The three-day event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Conference Center in the nation’s capital will highlight business owners from 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico, whose business achievements have contributed much to the economic well-being of their families, their employees, their communities and the nation. Awards also will be presented for notable achievements in disaster recovery, government procurement, small business advocacy, and to top-performing SBA resource and lending partners.

 

Featured Speakers at National Small Business Week will include:

   - Administrator Karen G. Mills, U.S. Small Business Administration

   - The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland

      Security

   - The Honorable Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation

 

Small Business Week will also feature a series of small business forums that are open to the public and developed to help entrepreneurs with real-world issues that impact their business, including Innovation, Exporting and Social Media. There will also be a Town Hall discussion on how small businesses are driving America’s recovery and economy. The public can register for the  forums for free at http://www.NationalSmallBusinessWeek.com/ before 12:00 p.m. EDT Friday, May 21.

 

Events during Small Business Week can be viewed virtually through SBA’s free, live webcasting accessible online at http://www.NationalSmallBusinessWeek.com/.

 

Schedule of Events

Sunday, May 23, 2010 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Registration Open Pre-function Area Sponsor: AT&T
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	Opening Networking Reception Hillwood & Hillwood Foyer Sponsor: Ford Motor Company
Monday, May 24, 2010 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.	Registration Open Pre-function Area Cyber Café Open (Sackler Room) Sponsor: Google
8:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.	Breakfast Honoring the Entrepreneurial Development and Lender Award Winners Grand Ballroom Sponsor: Northrop Grumman
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.	Keynote Address by Administrator Karen Mills Oriental Ballroom
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Town Hall – Small Business: Driving America’s Economy Oriental Ballroom Sponsor: eBay
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.	Phoenix Awards Luncheon – Disaster Recovery Award Winners Grand Ballroom Sponsor: AT&T
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.	Innovation Forum – Turning Innovation into Jobs Oriental Ballroom Sponsor: Cbeyond
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.	Exporting Forum: Customers, Profit$, Jobs and Growth – Take Your Business Global! Oriental Ballroom Sponsor: UPS
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.	Registration Open Pre-function Area Sponsor: AT&T   Cyber Café Open (Sackler Room) Sponsor: Google * Free Wi-Fi will be provided to all attendees.
8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.	National Awards Breakfast Honoring Procurement Award Winners Grand Ballroom Sponsor: Raytheon
11:00 a.m.- 12:15 p.m.	Social Media Forum – Social Media & Small Business: Join the Conversation Oriental Ballroom Sponsor: Intuit
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	National Awards Luncheon Honoring State Small Business Winners Grand Ballroom Sponsor: Sam’s Club
7:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.	Champion Award Winners Gala Grand Ballroom Sponsor: Visa & ADP

        

 

       

 

Media Contacts:         Dennis Byrne                         Cecelia Taylor

                                   dennis.byrne@sba.gov          cecelia.taylor@sba.gov

                                   (202) 205-6567                     (202) 401-3059

 

 

Media outlets are encouraged to cover National Small Business Week events, and can register as media representatives online at www.NationalSmallBusinessWeek.com. Call or e-mail Media contact for press registration code. Registration will be granted for working journalists only. The SBA Press Room at the Mandarin Hotel will be open May 23-25, and onsite press registration for National Small Business Week will start on May 23.

 

 

 

 

Editor Please Note: A list of 2010 state winners can be found here

http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/_files/live/2010STATEWINNERS.pdf.