NFIB has recognized Garry Floeter with its prestigious Small Business Champion award. NFIB State Director Jim Brown made the presentations last week at NFIB’s Small Business Day at the Capitol in Nashville with State Senator Paul Bailey and his daughter Tiffany Dabbs in attendance.  

The Small Business Champion award honors NFIB members who go the extra mile to help the association promote and protect the right of its members to own, operate and grow their businesses. NFIB has 7,000 members in Tennessee and 300,000 nationwide. 

Floeter is president of CHC Mechanical Contractors, a family-owned and operated company based in Cookeville specializing in mechanical contracting and HVAC services in Middle Tennessee. Floeter is a member of the NFIB Tennessee Leadership Council and serves on NFIB’s state Political Action Committee. CHC Mechanical Contractors has been an NFIB member since 1976. 

“Garry Floeter has been an outstanding advocate for small business issues for so many years,” Brown said. “Garry knows his elected officials, and they know him, which has contributed to his business’s success. Garry has been a force for small business by expressing his concerns and views articulately on the issues that matter to him and his employees. His passion for free enterprise and for his employees is second to none.” 

“I’m very honored to receive the NFIB Small Business Champion award,” Floeter said. “For more than 50 years, I’ve worked growing our small business, fighting through unexpected challenges, and trying to make a difference in the lives of so many of our hard-working employees over the years. Through the NFIB, our business has benefited from comprehensive reforms like transforming a broken workers’ compensation system in 2013, as well as addressing many onerous tax, labor and regulatory challenges at the state and federal levels.” 

Floeter is very involved in his community, including having served as Past President of the Cookeville Noonday Lion’s Club, Tennessee Tech Business Foundation, Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, and Heavenly Host Lutheran Church. Garry was also recognized with the Tennessee Tech Outstanding Business Leadership Award. Garry currently serves as Vice Chair of the Public Building Authority of the City of Cookeville,  and is a member of the Joint Economic Development Board. In addition, each year Garry participates in the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference by sponsoring the Sheetmetal fabrication competition.