04/02/2008
CONTACT: Suzanne Budge, 208-345-6632 or Stacy Jenkins, 360-870-7749
Boise's Bill Knorpp captures high honor for the second time
BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho has a first, and Billy Knorpp a second, as America's leading small business association, the National Federation of Independent Business, and Solveras, one of the nation's leading payment processing companies for small businesses, today named him their Idaho Small Business Champion of the Year. It is the first time Idaho named the same person twice, and it's Knorpp's second time to be given the honor.
The honor was conferred upon Knorpp, who also won it in 2006, by the NFIB/Idaho Leadership Council Business and Solveras Payment Systems. Each year, NFIB singles out a small business owner in all 50 states for special recognition and honors him or her with its prestigious Small Business Champion of the Year award. This is the fifth year NFIB has recognized small business owners who go the extra mile for their fellow entrepreneurs and the first year Solveras has joined in. Previous winners were Kali Carringer, 2007; Louis Aaron, 2005; and Barbara and Lyle Sall, 2004.
"Thousands of Idaho small business owners who will never meet Billy Knorpp owe him a debt of gratitude," said Suzanne Budge, NFIB/Idaho state director. "We do not hand this award out for any other reason but for who has been doing the most to help small businesses in the state of Idaho. Our Leadership Council asked that question and didn't pause a minute before giving it to the obvious answer, even though he has won it before. He is indefatigable in his defense of and championing for small business. He has testified before legislative committees in such a way that has won votes for small business, such are his powers of persuasion, which stem from a first-hand knowledge of having run an enterprise. This has made him supremely valuable on issues such as health care, tax policy, local options taxes, and personal property taxes."
Knorpp is the living embodiment of the can-do spirit of American small business owners and a role model for those trapped in corporate life. When giant Hewlett Packard went through another wave of its downsizing a few years back, sweeping out Billy Knorpp and all his years of service that he put into the company, he decided it was time to join the ranks of the real engine of the American economy and start his own enterprise. Today he is owner of RVP Systems, a 17-employee firm selling point-of-sale systems, cash registers, and credit card processing. For his community, Knorpp is chairman of the Meridian District of the Ore-Ida Boise Boy Scout Council, member of the Boise Area Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Networking Professionals, and a member of the BYU Management Society, Buy Idaho, RSPA, and various other organizations. He can be reached for further comment at 208-376-8121 or at bknorpp@rvpsystems.com.
