33rd Annual Manatee Small Business of the Year Awards

The 2012 Manatee Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon was held on Thursday, June 14 at the Renaissance on 9^th.  

This program annually recognizes small businesses for "quality and excellence" as exemplified by growth, productivity, customer service, job creation and overall contribution to the community.  

Presenting Sponsors of the Awards for 2012 were the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Bradenton Herald and BB&T.   Award sponsors included Environmental Biotech International, LaPensee Plumbing & Pools, On A Shoestring, Inc. and SouthTech Solutions, Inc.

 This year there were 93 nominations and the winners were chosen from among the 17 finalists.  

The 2012 judges were:

• Steve Litschauer, On A Shoestring, Inc.;
• Jackie McDonell, Cortez Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.;
• Jon Stuart, SCORE;
• Karen LaPensee, LaPensee Plumbing & Pools;
• Michael Vejins, Raymond James & Associates, Inc.   Judges screened applications and conducted personal interviews as a part of the selection process.  

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce this year's winners:

Under $500,000

• Susan Humphreys Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor

Susan Humphreys, 2915 Fiddlers Bend, Palmetto

Under $2 Million

• Hornback Chiropractic and Wellness, P.A.

Cynthia Hornback, DC, 11023 Gatewood Drive, Suite, Suite101, Lakewood Ranch

Under $6 Million

• IRISS

Martin & Deborah Robinson, 4914 Lena Road, Bradenton

Over $6 Million

• Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida

Shaun Merriman and Cindy Denison, 2100 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton

The 2012 Finalists:                                              

• Boyd Insurance &Investment Services, Inc., James Boyd and L. Pat Osburn

• Clean as a Whistle of Manatee, LLC, Deborah Cassidy

• Digital Image Business Solutions, Gregg Anderson

• 1^stChoice Facilities Services, Gary A. Simone

• Flooring America of Bradenton, Randy & Debi Clark and Taylor Clark

• George's Disc Jockey Service, George Mendez

• Grapevine Communications International, Inc., Angela Massaro-Fain and John Fain

• Home Instead Senior Care, Dr. Lisa Herlache and Dr. Marshall Webster

• Lyteworks, Becky Parra, Christopher Parra and Nicholas Parra

• North River Dental Group,P.A., Daniel Delrose, DDS and Richard Steinberg, DDS

• Rayco Electric,Inc., Raymond Felske

• Rusty Crickett's, Terri Liss, Charlie Kennedy, Jan Nelson, Joyce & Ed Illing

• Suncoast Business Technologies, LLC, Kevin Baylor, Kirk Deins and Chuck Walker