NFIB Recognizes Region Small Business Champions
Contact: Mike Diegel, 202-314-2004
“Best of the best” activists honored in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 27, 2009 — The National Federation of Independent Business, America’s leading small business association, today honored the organization’s four regional Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champions during a luncheon in Washington.
Each year, NFIB singles out a small business owner in all 50 states for special recognition and honors him or her with this prestigious award. This is the sixth year that the group has recognized small business owners who go the extra mile for America’s entrepreneurs. The regional honors were conferred upon this year’s winners by each region’s state directors and public policy directors.
“We’re only able to be successful in Washington and all 50 state capitals because of the contributions of our member activists,” said Dan Danner, NFIB president and CEO. “We’re indebted to them for the hard work they do to help protect and promote our free-enterprise system. This is an opportunity to recognize those members who are truly the ‘best of the best’ advocates for NFIB and our members.”
"This impressive group of people have demonstrated that they’re more than willing to commit their time and energy to make our country a better place to do business,” said John Cramp, chief executive officer of Solveras Payment Solutions. “We’re proud to do our part to recognize and honor their contributions.”
This year’s winners are:
East Region Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champion
Joe Kelly, Kelly Enterprises, Bordentown, N.J.
Joe Kelly, whose firm owns and operates retail and real estate operations, has been an NFIB member for 12 years. He’s considered to be a valuable resource for legislative issues and frequently testifies before the Legislature on important small business issues. He consistently participates in grassroots activities, making phone calls, writing letters, and meeting with lawmakers and the administration. He has helped organize efforts for campaigns and other election activities, as well as to recruit new NFIB members.
Kelly has been a member of the NFIB/New Jersey Leadership Council, a volunteer group that advises the association on issues affecting small business owners, for more than five years and actively participates in local Area Action Councils. He is the chair of NFIB/New Jersey’s political action committee, the NJ SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust and an active SAFETrust contributor.
West Region Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champion
Mike Horner, Tom Sawyer Camps, Inc. and Catalina Island Camps, Altadena, Calif.
An NFIB member since 1998, Mike and his wife, Sally, took over Tom Sawyer Camps in 1973, a summer day camp that has been in Pasadena since 1944, as it was about to go out of business. They extended the business in 1992 to include Catalina Island Camps, an 87-year-old resident camp for children. Horner serves as president of both camps.
He is a member of the Southern California Leadership Council and active in NFIB advocacy efforts at the state level, a Leadership Trust donor since 2000, and is a supporter of the Young Entrepreneur Foundation. Horner is a regular at NFIB-sponsored events such as Small Business Day at the Capitol, the Governor’s Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship as well as local member meetings, and has demonstrated exceptional leadership in reaching out and engaging his respective field sales representative to help grow and promote NFIB in his community and California.
Central Region Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champion
Larry Mocha, APSCO Inc., Tulsa, Okla.
Mocha, an NFIB member for 12 years, is president of APSCO Inc. (founded as Air Power Systems Co.) He is a member of the NFIB/Oklahoma Leadership Council. He has hosted numerous NFIB events and contributed to the NFIB political action committee, the Save America’s Free Enterprise Trust.
Mocha has worked with the lieutenant governor and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce to organize a series of “Small Business Forums” around the state. He recently testified before a congressional subcommittee in Tulsa on proposed cap-and-trade legislation. Mocha previously was named NFIB/Oklahoma’s Small Business Champion in 2005 and 2008.
South Region Solveras/NFIB Small Business Champion
Greg Powell, fi-Plan Partners LLC, Birmingham, Ala.
A four-year NFIB member, Greg Powell serves on the NFIB/Alabama Leadership Council and he belongs to the NFIB Legislation Advisory Committee.
Since joining NFIB, Powell has helped recruit new members to the association, and he created a novel campaign to help NFIB/Alabama’s political action committee, the Save America’s Free Enterprise (SAFE) Trust, raise money to support candidates in the 2010 elections. Not only has Powell’s work helped raise awareness of the SAFE Trust, but many contributors agreed to two-year commitments.
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