by Claude Solnik
Published: May 10, 2012
Tags: business owners, Long Island, SBA, Small Busines Week, Small Business, Small Business Administration
The New York office of the Small Business Administration is honoring three Long Island business people and their firms, as well as one government employee as part of its annual Small Business Week awards.
The New York office of the SBA – which spans New York City, Long Island and the seven upstate counties – will honor nine New York Small Business Week award winners Friday at a ceremony at 26 Federal Plaza, in Manhattan.
SBA New York District Director Pravina Raghavan will present the awards before National Small Business Week, which is from May 20-26.
“It’s important for us to showcase some of the talented entrepreneurs out there in terms of achievement, job creation and what they contribute to the economy,” said Harry Menta, spokesman for the SBA’s New York regional office.
Although the awards will be presented in New York City, four awards went to Long Island business people and small business advocates.
Delores V. Stafford, CEO of East Setauket-based IT firm Stafford Associates Computer Specialists, was named The New York District’s Small Business Person of the Year.
Stafford, who founded the firm 31 years ago with her husband in their home, has grown the company to employ 30 people. The firm recently used an SBA loan to help finance a new green building with a state-of-the-art data center.
Edward Kezys, president of New Hyde Park-based North Shore International, was named Small Business Exporter of the Year for New York state. He founded the firm in 2004 and now also has offices in Amman, Jordan and Baghdad, Iraq.
An export trading company focusing on the Middle East, North Shore does the majority of its work with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. But the company also has clients in Europe, South America and around the world.
After North Shore won contracts in 2010, it was able to increase its credit line up to $3.7 million with the help of the SBA, allowing it to fulfill growing demand.
And Bohemia-based P.W. Grosser Consulting, a small business services firm founded in 1990 and led by Paul W. Grosser, was named the regional subcontractor of the year. The firm provides environmental consulting, engineering and program management services to clients such as Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Lou Catalanotto, an employment representative for the New York State Department of Labor in Hicksville who works to place military veterans in jobs, was named the New York District’s Small Business Champion of the Year.
A military veteran, Catalanotto was born in Brooklyn, entered the United States Army in 1958 and served in Vietnam, Germany, France and the Netherlands before retiring from the Army as Sergeant First Class in June 1982.
He Joined McPhilben Lighting Industries as a computer graphics technician, but after 10 years was recalled to active military duty with the United States Army in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Catalanotto retired from the Army a second time in September 1991 and returned to school.
The SBA since 1963 has recognized small businesses and entrepreneurs across the nation with a wide range of awards presented in conjunction with National Small Business Week.
Companies and business people don’t need to have SBA assistance in order to be singled out for achievement, Menta said.
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