M.E.D. | 2009 Award Nominations are Being Accepted for Business Person, Minority Advocate

Award nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Minority Enterprise Development Awards Celebration. M.E.D. honors the many accomplishments of minority business owners on national, state, and local levels.  The Diversity Committee of the Spartanburg Area Chamber is preparing for the fall awards celebration and is currently accepting award nominations.  When considering a nominee, please keep the following criteria in  mind for each of the awards:

Minority Business Person of the Year

Any minority and/or female individual who owns and operates or bears principal responsibility for operating a small business may be nominated.

    Evaluation Criteria:

• Staying power—a substantial history as an established business.
• Growth in number of employees—a benchmark to judge the impact of the business on the job market.
• Increase in sales and/or unit volume—an indication of continued growth over the last 3 years.
• Current and past financial reports—a substantiation of improved financial position of the business.
• Innovativeness of product or service offered—an illustration of the creativity and imagination of the nominee.
• Reponse to adversity—examples of problems faced in the nominee’s business and the methods used to solve them.
• Contributions to aid community-oriented projects—evidence of the use of his/her personal time and resources.
• Current member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year

Individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to support minority entrepreneurship may be nominated.  Nominees may or may not be small business owners.

    Evaluation Criteria:

• Volunteer efforts beyond business/professional responsibilities to advance minority small business interests within the community, state, and/or nation.
• Demonstrated efforts to improve conditions in the minority small business community as a whole, not solely for individual personal advancement.
• Voluntary provisions of professional services to the minority small business community in a legal, legislative, managerial, or financial capacity.