Salute to Small Business
PRESENTED BY:
Salute to Small Business Week | September 21-25, 2020
Week-Long Celebration to Recognize Top Area Small Businesses
It’s safe to say that the 2020 Salute to Small Business Awards presented by Forcht Bank will look different from any other Commerce Lexington Inc. small business awards celebration in the past. Meanwhile, nothing about this year has been normal for small businesses across our community, as they deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If there ever was a year to recognize our small business community, this is it.
Coming September 21-25, we’ll recognize our Salute to Small Business Category Award winners during a week-long celebration and promotional campaign, culminating with the naming of a new Commerce Lexington Inc. Small Business of the Year. A variety of changes to the awards application process resulted in the most applications received since 2013.
The Salute to Small Business planning committee took several steps to streamline the application process and enable more businesses to apply, including a reduction in the number of award categories from eight to four, an increase in the number of employees to 150 for a small business to be eligible, and the option for any individual to nominate their favorite small business for one of the awards.
During the week-long celebration (September 21-25), you’ll be able to learn more about and connect with the Category Award winners through a variety of virtual webinars, on-line videos about each business, and live streams from their location, culminating with a virtual Watch Party on Friday, September 25 to announce the new Small Business of the Year.
Week-Long Celebration to Recognize Top Area Small Businesses
It’s safe to say that the 2020 Salute to Small Business Awards presented by Forcht Bank will look different from any other Commerce Lexington Inc. small business awards celebration in the past. Meanwhile, nothing about this year has been normal for small businesses across our community, as they deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If there ever was a year to recognize our small business community, this is it.
Coming September 21-25, we’ll recognize our Salute to Small Business Category Award winners during a week-long celebration and promotional campaign, culminating with the naming of a new Commerce Lexington Inc. Small Business of the Year. A variety of changes to the awards application process resulted in the most applications received since 2013.
The Salute to Small Business planning committee took several steps to streamline the application process and enable more businesses to apply, including a reduction in the number of award categories from eight to four, an increase in the number of employees to 150 for a small business to be eligible, and the option for any individual to nominate their favorite small business for one of the awards.
During the week-long celebration (September 21-25), you’ll be able to learn more about and connect with the Category Award winners through a variety of virtual webinars, on-line videos about each business, and live streams from their location, culminating with a virtual Watch Party on Friday, September 25 to announce the new Small Business of the Year.
2020 Salute to Small Business Category Winners
|
Minority Business Award
Elaine Allen, LLC
1018 E. New Circle Road, Suite 209, Lexington 40505 Phone: (859) 221-1563 www.elaineallenllc.com Established in 2017 by Bishop E. Carter IV, Elaine Allen is a certified MBE construction firm that offers clients an option to avoid long-term overhead expenses without sacrificing quality management and expertise. It has the capability to manage the entire program and construction process from pre-design through project delivery and closeout. After 20 years of experience in the corporate construction industry, Mr. Carter has grown the business from a one-man operation to five full-time employees and two part-time employees, while sales have doubled each year since inception. Community outreach is a cornerstone of Elaine Allen, which encourages employees to volunteer and get involved with organizations throughout the community. The business has been directly involved with helping the Black Males Working Academy, a nationally-awarded program aimed to reach, teach and keep the black male student population from failing. Mr. Carter has made it his mission to assist in making sure this program and its participants succeed. Entrepreneur Award
AU Associates, Inc.
159 Old Georgetown Road Lexington, KY 40508 Phone: (859) 233-2009 www.auassociates.com Holly Wiedemann founded AU Associates in September of 1990. She began her vision with a love for historic buildings, coupled with a desire to develop affordable housing. Holly ran AU for the first 13 years on her own, hired her first employee in 2003, and the company now has 30 employees. Through its recently-created AU Management, LLC, the company now manages all of the properties it has developed, which includes over 1,200 units in Kentucky and West Virginia. Despite the funding challenges that come with infill redevelopment and affordable housing, AU Associates has been successful in creating developments that serve their communities through innovative thinking, creative financial and architectural solutions, and fulfilling the needs of those who live or work in them. The AU team has been deeply involved in a variety of aspects of the community, serving on numerous boards and providing rent-free commercial space to several organizations such as Greenhouse 17, Blue Grass Legal Aid for Domestic Abuse, and Sunflower Kids, a supervised visitation service for children and their parents. AU has been a certified WBE/DBE company annually since 1990. |
Business Success Award
Churchill McGee
1315-C W. Main Street Lexington, KY 40508 Phone: (859) 389-6976 www.churchillmcgee.com Churchill McGee was established in 2003 by Nathan Churchill and Patrick McGee to perform general contracting, construction management, and design-build services for new commercial build projects and commercial fit-up projects. It has completed hundreds of projects over the past 17 years in the office, retail, restaurant/hospitality, healthcare, institutional, and historic industries. Churchill McGee has had consistent growth in its workforce, revenue, and net-profit, and today has grown to $40 million in annual revenue with projects in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. The company has always believed that its place in the community was a reciprocal experience. Through its Give Back program, Churchill McGee has invested over $300,000 since 2003 and volunteered hundreds of hours to community organizations. This year, the company completed a 4,000-square foot community building on its own property that includes a gym and meeting space for community groups to utilize. In addition, its Dream Lottery program funds a dream of one employee each year. Nonprofit Community
Impact Award 
CASA of Lexington
3245 Loch Ness Dr. Lexington, KY 40517 Phone: (859) 246-4313 www.casaoflexington.org Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA of Lexington is a volunteer driven non-profit which recruits, trains and supervises volunteer advocates for children (CASAs.) These volunteers advocate for the best interests of children in the family court system that have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or dependency and work to ensure that all victims of child abuse and neglect are given a chance to thrive in a safe, permanent home. CASA of Lexington was established in 1986 as a program within LFUCG, but after budgetary contraints in 2004 led to discontinued funding, CASA incorporated as a nonprofit agency and obtained 501(c)3 status. An executive director was hired in 2013, and CASA has grown to 12 full-time staff, two part-time staff, and a courthouse facility dog. The organization has also increased its active volunteers from 46 to 216 and total children served from 120 to 626. Led by Executive Director Melynda Jamison, the work of CASA has not stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
PLATINUM SPONSOR
Community Trust Bank
GOLD SPONSORS
Central Bank & Trust Co.
Columbia Gas of Kentucky
H-L Media (Lexington Herald-Leader & Kentucky.com)
Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance (KEMI)
LM Communications
Community Trust Bank
GOLD SPONSORS
Central Bank & Trust Co.
Columbia Gas of Kentucky
H-L Media (Lexington Herald-Leader & Kentucky.com)
Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance (KEMI)
LM Communications
VIDEO SPONSOR
Studio46 Media
SILVER SPONSORS
Bankers Title of Central Kentucky
Bryant's Rent-All, Inc.
Cumberland Valley National Bank
MCM CPAs & Advisors
TravelHost of the Bluegrass
U.S. Bank
SMALL BUSINESS SPONSORS
AMR Lexington
BACK Construction
Hurst Business Supply and Office Furniture
Precision Duplicating Solutions
INVITATION, PROGRAM & SIGNAGE DESIGN
Stablemate Creative LLC
PRINT SPONSOR
Lynn Imaging/Monster Color
Studio46 Media
SILVER SPONSORS
Bankers Title of Central Kentucky
Bryant's Rent-All, Inc.
Cumberland Valley National Bank
MCM CPAs & Advisors
TravelHost of the Bluegrass
U.S. Bank
SMALL BUSINESS SPONSORS
AMR Lexington
BACK Construction
Hurst Business Supply and Office Furniture
Precision Duplicating Solutions
INVITATION, PROGRAM & SIGNAGE DESIGN
Stablemate Creative LLC
PRINT SPONSOR
Lynn Imaging/Monster Color
Commerce Lexington Inc. began honoring the contributions that small businesses have on our economy in 1986, and since that very first Salute to Small Business event, the impact of small businesses on the global economy has become more important than ever before.
WHAT'S NEW FOR 2020:
Commerce Lexington Inc. has not only streamlined the Salute to Small Business Awards application with a completely on-line format, removing some redundancy and allowing for better descriptions of the success of the business, but has also reduced the number of award categories from eight to four. In addition, the number of employees for a business to be considered has been increased to under 150 employees (full-time or some combination of full- and part-time as indicated in the awards application).
ELIGIBILITY:
SELECTION PROCESS:
Small business award applicants are judged, and winners are selected for each of the four categories. The names of the category winners are released approximately a month prior to the Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon. The Commerce Lexington Inc. Small Business of the Year is then selected from the category winners (excluding non-profit of the year) and announced at the awards luncheon. The Overall Small Business of the Year then has the opportunity to apply for state and national recognition through the U.S. Small Business Administration with the assistance of the Bluegrass Small Business Development Center.
WHAT'S NEW FOR 2020:
Commerce Lexington Inc. has not only streamlined the Salute to Small Business Awards application with a completely on-line format, removing some redundancy and allowing for better descriptions of the success of the business, but has also reduced the number of award categories from eight to four. In addition, the number of employees for a business to be considered has been increased to under 150 employees (full-time or some combination of full- and part-time as indicated in the awards application).
ELIGIBILITY:
- Businesses must be active members of Commerce Lexington Inc.
- Businesses must have completed three (3) or more full years of operation in the local market with fewer than 150 employees.
- Small businesses can apply for ONE award category.
- Past Category and overall Small Business of the Year award recipients are not eligible to reapply for 5 years from the date of their award presentation.
- APPLICATIONS ARE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.
SELECTION PROCESS:
Small business award applicants are judged, and winners are selected for each of the four categories. The names of the category winners are released approximately a month prior to the Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon. The Commerce Lexington Inc. Small Business of the Year is then selected from the category winners (excluding non-profit of the year) and announced at the awards luncheon. The Overall Small Business of the Year then has the opportunity to apply for state and national recognition through the U.S. Small Business Administration with the assistance of the Bluegrass Small Business Development Center.
Hallway Feeds Named 2019 Small Business of the Year
[Lexington, Ky.] – At the Commerce Lexington Inc. Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon at Keeneland presented by Forcht Bank, Hallway Feeds was named the 2019 Small Business of the Year. The recipient of this year’s award in the Business Success Category, Hallway Feeds was chosen for the honor from six different category winners.
When Bob Hall and his late wife, Bonnie, purchased a small feed business in Lexington called Farmers Feed Mill in 1964, the foundation for the company was focused on exceptional customer service, and that mantra continues today. As Lexington evolved, so too did Farmers Feed Mill by introducing the Hallway Feeds brand to supply Thoroughbred farms with the highest quality, custom-manufactured feeds. Shortly thereafter, Hallway Feeds moved to a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facility on West Loudon Avenue, where it is currently located.
Hallway Feeds is now the only family-owned and operated feed company dedicated to the equine industry, and its signature products are distributed throughout Central Kentucky, the United States and approximately 12 countries worldwide. Many of the most prominent breeding operations, Hall of Fame trainers and international venues rely upon Hallway Feeds. In fact, it has fed 13 of the last 21 Kentucky Derby winners, including the most recent Triple Crown winners, American Pharaoh and Justify.
Commerce Lexington Inc. began its small business awards program in 1986, recognizing 102 outstanding small businesses and nonprofit organizations since its inception. This year’s category award winners together have 180 years of service to our community.
When Bob Hall and his late wife, Bonnie, purchased a small feed business in Lexington called Farmers Feed Mill in 1964, the foundation for the company was focused on exceptional customer service, and that mantra continues today. As Lexington evolved, so too did Farmers Feed Mill by introducing the Hallway Feeds brand to supply Thoroughbred farms with the highest quality, custom-manufactured feeds. Shortly thereafter, Hallway Feeds moved to a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facility on West Loudon Avenue, where it is currently located.
Hallway Feeds is now the only family-owned and operated feed company dedicated to the equine industry, and its signature products are distributed throughout Central Kentucky, the United States and approximately 12 countries worldwide. Many of the most prominent breeding operations, Hall of Fame trainers and international venues rely upon Hallway Feeds. In fact, it has fed 13 of the last 21 Kentucky Derby winners, including the most recent Triple Crown winners, American Pharaoh and Justify.
Commerce Lexington Inc. began its small business awards program in 1986, recognizing 102 outstanding small businesses and nonprofit organizations since its inception. This year’s category award winners together have 180 years of service to our community.
