KOSBE Extends Deadline for Entries for this Year’s Prestigious Small Business Annual Awards Celebration Due to High Demand
August 26, 2013
Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE) News Release
Monday, August 26, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Dana Glenn
Administrative & Marketing Coordinator, KOSBE
Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
Ph: (423) 392-8811
dglenn@kingsportchamber.org
KOSBE Extends Deadline for Entries for this Year’s Prestigious Small Business Annual Awards Celebration Due to High Demand
Deadline September 30th
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE) is accepting applications and nominations for the 2013 Annual KOSBE Awards from KOSBE clients and Kingsport Chamber members and non-members alike.
This year there are 12 categories of competition: Young Entrepreneur (under age 40), New Business (in operation for at least 12 months but not more than 36 months), Business Excellence Under 10 Employees, Business Excellence 10 Employees and Up, Multiple Store/Franchise Award, Minority Business Enterprise, Woman-Owned Business, Veteran-Owned Business, Home-Based Business, Rural Business Enterprise, Small Manufacturer/Fabricator and The Impact Award for an outstanding individual and small business advocate nominated by a business who is entering the contest in any of the above contest categories.
Selections will be made based on self-reported past financial performance (tax refunds/financial statements are not required), growth in number of employees, business staying power and history, success story, overcoming adversity, community involvement, creative marketing, best practices and presented strategies for growth.
The competition is open only to legal residents of the United States who are at least 18 years of age at the time of entry or legally established small business entities carrying on business for tax purposes in the City of Kingsport or in Grainger, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Sullivan and Washington Counties. Entrants must hold an ownership stake in the business that is the subject of entry. The business profiled in any submitted entry must consist of no more than 150 employees and the 2012 reported revenue of the business must not exceed $10 million USD.
Past winners and contenders are eligible to compete again. Applicants are not required to be a KOSBE client or Kingsport Chamber member.
A panel consisting of local and non-local judges will review all submissions and select semi-finalists based on some or all of the following methods: completed application form, telephone interview, in-person interview, a video submission via YouTube (optional) and/or an oral presentation. The winners will be announced at the recognition and celebration event on Thursday, December 5, 2013, from 6 – 9 p.m. at The Club at Ridgefields.
“Expect to see new awards this year,” said KOSBE Executive Director, Aundrea Wilcox. “With the recurring quantity and quality of the applicants we have been receiving year after year, the judges have been known to create custom awards for stand-out companies that don't fit a traditional mold."
This year’s KOSBE Chair, Leslie T. Ridings, attorney with Hunter, Smith & Davis, LLP, says “The annual KOSBE Awards always function as an indicator of our regional economy. With such a unique opportunity for small businesses in the area, it’s exciting to see more and more entities honored for their success and growth each year. ”
Each winner and runner-up will receive a KOSBE award. Businesses will also be recognized during Kingsport Chamber and KOSBE events, showcased on Kingsport Chamber and KOSBE websites and highlighted through KOSBE’s social and media outlets.
Anyone interested can pick up the 2013 KOSBE Award Application in person or download it online at kosbe.org. Past KOSBE Award winners may be nominated by KOSBE for other State and National Awards such as the SBA Rising Star Award and the SBA Entrepreneurial Success Award.
The new deadline for applications is September 30, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. If you have any questions, call (423) 392.8811 or e-mail dglenn@kingsportchamber.org. Mail, drop off, or fax your completed application to: Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, ATTN: 2013 KOSBE Awards Entry, Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE), 400 Clinchfield, Ste. 100, Kingsport, TN 37660. Fax to (423) 392.8834.
For more information about your Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE), visit kosbe.org or call (423) 392.811. We’re social too; follow us on Facebook, Kosbe – The Small Business Connection, Twitter, @KOSBEConnection, LinkedIn group, KOSBE — The Small Business Connection and our YouTube Channel, KOSBEConnection.
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