SBA Winners Range from Dog Leashes to Diplomats The owners of a pet products business in Richmond, VA, were named National Small Business Persons of the Year during ceremonies at the National Entrepreneurial Conference and Expo in Washington. Sharon E. Bennett and Evan C. Wooten and their company, Premier Pet Products, sell and produce collars, leashes and other specialty pet products that “improve the relationships between people and their pets.” Bennett started the business in 1989 with a $5,000 SBA-backed loan, two used sewing machines and a few boxes of raw materials. She started making innovative dog collars and leashes at home. She brought Wooten in as a partner in 1998 to manage the company’s rapid growth. Premier Pet Products now employs 114 people and recorded more than $10 million in sales last year. SBA named Jane Nowell, president of Barlovento LLC of Dothan, AL, as its Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year. Sharon Clements, President of Clements General Construction Inc. of Covington, WA, was chosen Small Business Subcontractor of the Year. Other award winners for excellence in government contracting included: •Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large prime contractors that have excelled in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors: Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. of Dallas (Manufacturing Category); Centennial Contractor Enterprises Inc. of Vienna, VA (Construction Category); Jet Propulsion Lab, of Pasadena, CA (Research & Development Category); and BWXT Y-12 LLC, of Oak Ridge, TN (Services Category). •Gold Star Award, recognizing the exemplary performance of federal personnel who carry out the aggressive goals and strategic initiatives that help ensure a role for small business in the federal marketplace: the State Department’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization staff in Washington and Ms. Colleen Burns, Director of Contracting for the Fort Bliss, TX, Army Air Defense Center. •Frances Perkins Vanguard Award, honoring government and industry for excellence in the use of women-owned small businesses: A. Jo Baylor, Director of the OSDBU for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Kevin Boshears, Director of the Homeland Security Department OSDBU; Sam W. Box, President of Tetra Tech FW, Inc., of San Diego; Theresa A. Carson, C.P.M., of Sandia National Laboratory of Albuquerque, NM.