Arizona and Helicopter Industry to be Represented by John Stonecipher of Guidance Aviation during 50th Anniversary of National Small Business Week

by Guy Roginson

On June 21, 2013, Arizona businesses and the helicopter industry will be represented by Guidance Aviation's President, John Stonecipher during National Small Business Week in Washington D.C., an event which will be streamed live by the SBA.

Stonecipher was named Arizona's Person of The Year by the State's SBA on May 16th.  Now, Stonecipher is traveling to Washington, D.C. for the 50th Annual National Small Business Awards on June 21st, taking place at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, 12 noon, eastern time.

Keynote speakers during the awards ceremony include:

• Guest Speaker: Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
• Keynote Speaker: Angie Hicks, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Angie's List
• Sponsor Speaker: Gloria Pualani, Corporate Director, Socio-Economic Business Programs/Government Relations, Northrop Grumman
• Sponsor Speaker: Janet Zablock, Head of Global Small Business, Visa

About National Small Business Week

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week.  Although things have certainly changed since President Kennedy signed the first Presidential Proclamation in 1963, one thing that hasn’t changed is America’s entrepreneurial spirit and the important role that small business owners play in our economy and our communities.

This week, President Obama has continued America’s tradition of honoring the spirit and success of American small business owners by proclaiming June 17 - 21 to be 2013’s National Small Business Week. Small businesses have always been the backbone of our economy, and we know that the success of America’s small businesses is critical to growing our economy and increasing our nation’s global competitiveness.

Small businesses create two out of three net new private sector jobs in our economy.  And today, half of all working Americans either own or work for a small business. Over the past five years, the Obama Administration has worked to rebuild the economy and ensure that small businesses are able to do what they do best: grow and create jobs.

This year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has revamped and redesigned our efforts to bring more tools, tips and resources to America’s 28 million small businesses, in conjunction with Administration-wide efforts to make government smarter, more responsive and more streamlined.  And throughout National Small Business Week, we’ll be focused on workshops, hands-on assistance, matchmaking and mentoring for small business owners in the following cities:

June 17 - Seattle, Wa.
June 18 - Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
June 19 - St. Louis, Mo.
June 20 - Pittsburgh, Pa.
June 21 - Washington, D.C.

Throughout the week, we’ll be joined by entrepreneurs and experts including Jack Dorsey (Square and Twitter co-founder), Angie Hicks (founder of Angie’s List), David Steward (founder and chairman of Worldwide Technologies) and Fran Tarkenton (former NFL quarterback and entrepreneur).

If you don’t live in these cities, you can tune into our events via live stream at www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek, and by joining our daily Google + Hangouts with additional business and social media experts. During National Small Business Week, we also encourage you to visit your favorite local small business and tell us about it on Twitter with the official hashtag #SBW2013.

In Washington, D.C., we’ll finish the week by honoring outstanding entrepreneurs from every state and U.S. territory and announcing our 2013 National Small Business Person of the Year.  This year’s winners represent the incredible diversity of small businesses; from technological start-ups and health care providers, to a helicopter pilot training school and an organic vegetable farm.  And they are all inspiring examples of the drive and creativity that makes America’s small businesses the true engine of our economy.

For generations, Americans have pursued the dream of owning their own small business. During National Small Business Week, we recognize the critical role that these small businesses play in America’s economic growth and global competitiveness." - Karen Mills, SBA Administrator (website)

2013 SMALL BUSINESS WEEK STATE WINNERS COMPETING FOR NATIONAL AWARD

ALABAMA
Ellen Didier
Red Sage Communications, Inc.

ALASKA
Doug Coon
Justin Herrin
Young’s Gear LLC

ARIZONA
John L. Stonecipher
Guidance Aviation

ARKANSAS
Charlott “Chotsie” Adney
Advanced Aesthetics of Arkansas, Inc.

CALIFORNIA
Michael “Jason” Ianni
President & CEO
M Bar C Construction, Inc.

COLORADO
Ms. Virginia McAllister
Iron Horse Architects, Inc.

CONNECTICUT
Christopher Ray Runyan
President, Runyan Enterprises, LLC

DELAWARE
Coleman E. Bye III
The Mercantile Press, Inc.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Tom J. Loftus
LS Technologies, LLC

FLORIDA
Steve W. Miller
EPreward, Inc.

GEORGIA
Laura (Beth) Cayce
CaraVita Home Care

GUAM
Christopher F. Bejado
Marianas Slingstone, Inc.

HAWAII
David R. Yogi Jr., P.E.
James K.P. Kwong, Ph.D., P.E.

IDAHO
Daniel B. Todd
Triple T Enterprises, Inc.

ILLINOIS
Saqib Nadeem Paradise 4 Paws

INDIANA
Daniel Dale Schmidtendorff
Communication Company of South Bend, Inc.

IOWA
Charles B. Hammond Jr.
Raining Rose, Inc.

KANSAS
Randy Schaller
Darla Schaller
Tree House Learning Center, Inc.

KENTUCKY
Mehdi M. Yazdanpanah, PhD
NaugaNeedles

LOUISIANA
Vince P. Gremillion
Restech Information Services, Inc.

MAINE
Matthew A. Qualey
Qualey, Granite & Quartz

MARYLAND
Michael C. Sawyers
7Delta, Inc.

MASSACHUSETTS
Scott Fallavollita
United Tool & Die Co.

MICHIGAN
Douglas Hekman
Quincy Street, Inc.

MINNESOTA
Peter C. Kelsey
The New French Bakery

MISSISSIPPI
Jeff Good
Dan Blumenthal
Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint

MISSOURI
Thomas H. Douglas
JMARK Business Solutions, Inc.

MONTANA
Joe C. Billion
J.C. Billion, Inc.

NEBRASKA
Henry Aschoff
Keith Wiehn
Petersen Ag Systems, Inc.

NEVADA
Robert B. Edwards
RO Bus Sales

NEW HAMPSHIRE
James (Jay) M. McSharry
Jumpin Jay’s Fish Café
Dos Amigos Burritos
Moxy

NEW JERSEY
Timothy Walsh
Lucas Kovalcik
The Gravity Vault

NEW MEXICO
Anthony R. Tenorio
Applied Technology Associates

NEW YORK
Louis J. DeMent Jr.
Giovanni Food Company, Inc.

NORTH CAROLINA
Stephen T. Forrest
Sandra F. Forrest
Shane R. Gebauer
Brushy Mountain Bee Farm

NORTH DAKOTA
Kari Warberg Block
Earth-Kind, Inc.OHIO
Karri Bass
Illumination Research, Inc.

OKLAHOMA
Pam Fountain-Wilks
Principal Technologies, Inc.

OREGON
Judith E. Huck
Classique Floors

PENNSYLVANIA
Regina Broudy
Clayton Kendall, Inc.

PUERTO RICO
Jose A. Irizarry
Natalabriel, Inc.

RHODE ISLAND
Brenda Brock
Farmaesthetics

SOUTH CAROLINA
Noah Thomas Leask
Ishpi Information Technologies

SOUTH DAKOTA
Dwayne A. Klarenbeek
Midwestern Mechanical, Inc.

TENNESSEE
Dr. Hasem Merdad Hashemian
AMS Technology Center

TEXAS
Aziz Mansoor
Ahmed Mashnoon
Mueen Akhter
Netbrands Media Corp.

UTAH
Roland J. Christensen
Applied Composite Technology
Aerospace

VERMONT
Peter Johnson
Pete’s Greens

VIRGINIA
Jason A. Cohen
ILM Corporation of Virginia, Inc.

VIRGIN ISLANDS
Charles N. King Jr.
Delta Electric & Construction Co., Inc.

WASHINGTON
Jill L. Blankenship
Frontline Call Center and Frontline Services

WEST VIRGINIA
Diane Lewis
Action Facilities Management, Inc.

WISCONSIN
Tom Nieman
Fromm Family Foods

WYOMING
Aaron J. Rodolph

Rodolph Brothers, Inc.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

In America, we believe that anyone willing to work hard and take risks can get their good idea off the ground and into the marketplace. It is a notion that has made our Nation bold and bright, and the best place to do business for generations -- from small-town storefronts to pioneering startups that keep our country on the cutting edge. This week, we celebrate America's entrepreneurial spirit, and we recommit to helping our small businesses get ahead.

My Administration has been a proud partner in that important work from day one. We have cut taxes for small businesses 18 times, broadened their access to capital, and provided billions in loans so they can grow and hire. We have helped companies break into new markets abroad and export their products all over the world. Every step of the way, we have focused on making Government work better for business through initiatives like Startup America and BusinessUSA -- groundbreaking programs that connect entrepreneurs to resources that can spur their success.

Together, we can build on that progress. At a time when abusive patent litigation is stifling economic growth and putting companies of all sizes at risk, my Administration is taking action to protect innovators and keep our patent system strong. To create more opportunities for small businesses to compete and win in the global marketplace, we are moving forward on a Trans-Pacific Partnership that will boost our exports and level the playing field for American workers. We are implementing the Affordable Care Act so small businesses can make quality, affordable health insurance available to all their employees. And in the months ahead, we will continue pushing for tax reform that supports small businesses and keeps them at the forefront of our economic recovery.

America's small businesses reflect the best of who we are as a Nation -- daring and innovative, courageous and hopeful, always working hard and looking ahead for that next great idea. They are our economy's engine and our biggest source of new jobs. So this week, as entrepreneurs across our country keep striving to turn their dreams into reality, let us keep investing in them and doing everything we can to help our small businesses succeed.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 16 through June 22, 2013, as National Small Business Week. I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the competitiveness of the American economy with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA