And the 2008 Winners Are...

Photography by David Andrews

On slow afternoons Eileen Mason and Evelyn Wheeler stood in the middle of their deserted downtown coffeehouse and yelled, “Coffee for sale! Coffee for sale!” In those days they feared they had lost the gamble of their lives.

As terrorism overseas escalated, the partners in a successful, custom tour of the Middle East enterprise had decided to enter two completely unknown businesses -- roasting coffee for wholesale and retailing coffee in their own café. What’s more, they had chosen to refurbish a space in the central part of downtown -- not the busiest of locations.

Six years later Chattanooga Coffee Company and Chattz Coffeehouse is a daily must for a loyal and diverse patronage, a showcase in the revitalization of Market Street and this year’s recipient of the Chamber’s Small Business Award in the 1-20 employees category.

Other winners are Mike Collins & Associates, Inc. (21-50 employees) and Northwest georgia Bank (51-100 employees). first Things first, Inc. was the non-profit honoree at the Chamber’s Small Business Awards Luncheon.

Ronelle Sellers of Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough emceed the awards luncheon and chaired the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee that coordinated the awards program.

“This event calls attention to people who work hard and long hours, who meet unending challenges, who make it possible for their employees to earn a living for their families, who produce goods and services that we depend on,” Sellers said.

SBA Award Recipients
“When we opened the Chattanooga Coffee Company and Chattz Coffeehouse in 2002, our goal was to bring the quality and ambiance of the great coffeehouses of Europe to Chattanooga, to offer quality coffee roasted in-house and to support downtown renewal,” says Eileen Mason.

Mason and Evelyn Wheeler created atmosphere in their 900-square-foot space at 1010 Market Street by removing the interior walls and resurrecting the intricate tray ceiling, decorative tile floor and handsome brick pillars. They acquired coffee roasting skills from an expert roast master who enjoyed a successful coffee venture on the West Coast.
 

Two years later Chattz Coffeehouse was nominated for the Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics and received an Honorable Mention in the Small Business category. The same year Minorities and Women in Business magazine spotlighted Chattz to illustrate Chattanooga’s spirit of entrepreneurism.

Chattz aficionados praise its tasty brews, professional service, friendly staff and pleasing atmosphere. “In addition to our retail customers, we service over 20 wholesale accounts, including The St. John’s Restaurant, Greenlife Grocery and The Lodge at Buckberry Creek in Knoxville,” Wheeler says.
 

In 1987 Mike and Karen Collins established Mike Collins & Associates, Inc. (MCA) to provide Information Technology equipment to Chattanooga businesses at a competitive price and with high quality service. They started the business with one employee in an 800-square-foot office.

After purchasing their first freestanding building in Bonny Oaks Industrial Park in 1995, the owners added a maintenance division. This risky venture, requiring a large capital investment and increased staff, turned into a springboard for growth that doubled the size of the MCA building and staff.

Another milestone was the addition of an in-house leasing division, giving MCA another avenue for offering IT solutions to customers.

Over the years MCA built partnerships with Hewlett-Packard, Dell Computers, IBM and other leaders in the industry.

By 2006 MCA had again outgrown its space and opened the doors to a new building on Century Oaks Drive with over 23,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.

Today MCA has 42 full-time employees with offices in Chattanooga and Nashville and the ability to service more than 500 customers nationwide through its Depot Maintenance division.

“Over the years MCA has undergone many of the challenges other small businesses face – including taking out second mortgages, cash flow issues and growing pains,” Mike Collins says. “But we have continued to stay ahead by changing the business to adapt to the ever-changing IT industry.”

MCA receives praise for its competitiveness, competence and responsiveness – qualities that allow it to often win business over larger regional or national service providers.

Founded in 1904 as the Bank of Ringgold with $25,000 in capital, Northwest Georgia Bank today is Chattanooga’s largest community bank, with nine branches and more than $620 million in assets.

Northwest opened branches in Hixson and Ooltewah-Collegedale in 2007, and groundbreakings are in the works for three more branches in Tennessee. In March the bank broke ground on a “green” North Shore branch on Manufacturers Road. Branches are also planned for East Brainerd Road and Highway 58.

“The Northwest Way,” the bank’s unique approach to doing business, evolved from the bank’s history of service. At the core of the Northwest Way are the bank’s shared values encircled by a common commitment to customers and the success of the Northwest family. These values are nurtured during weekly Performance Excellence Program (PEP) Practices and tri-annual organizationwide PEP Rallies.

The Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence awarded Northwest its Commitment Award, signifying the bank’s dedication to creating an extraordinary organization. The award reflects the leadership of Northwest Chairman and CEO Wes Smith, who serves on the board of the American Bankers Association.

Northwest Georgia was recently named the 2008 Outstanding Large Business of the year by the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce.

“Through strong civic leadership, community-focused lending and large charitable donations, Northwest’s influence is and has been inestimable,” Smith says. “Our relationships with both customers and vendors are solid and built on service, trust and fairness. Our mission is to serve the community while generating location growth and economic well-being.”

First Things First, Inc. (FTF) is a community-based nonprofit initiative dedicated to strengthening families through education, collaboration and mobilization. goals are to lower the divorce rate and the rate of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and to increase father involvement in the lives of Hamilton County children.

FTF provides skill-building workshops for couples, parents, singles and fathers and a resource library. Through mass media FTF educates the public about how to have strong marriages and families. The organization also offers cutting edge training of professionals who work with families.

Formed in 1997, FTF partners with community and religious organizations, foundations, governments, schools and others to help change attitudes and behaviors about the importance of family.

Over the years thousands of people have attended FTF classes and enrichment opportunities, and more than 300 communities across the country have requested training from FTF to start their own healthy marriage and family initiatives.

Last fall FTF received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for development of new programs, services and resources aimed at helping individuals and couples interested in or preparing for marriage, as well as those already in marriages.

FTF has been cited for its tremendous impact on the community and described as the kind of grassroots organization that should be replicated throughout the U.S. to instill the importance of family values in the fabric of our next generation.

Julie Baumgardner, president and executive director of FTF, spoke at the White House Conference on Helping America’s youth, testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about the benefits of marriage and has presented at the Brookings Institute.

In 1998 Kim Campbell founded Chattanooga Closet Company, using her home as the office, donated warehouse space and a used van. Campbell, who has a degree in interior design, relied on her own design skills and engaged Schulte Corp. as her supplier.

Over the past six years Chattanooga Closet has had an average growth of 31 percent annually. Campbell attributes the company’s success to taking risks, such as moving to a Broad Street location.

Customers cite Campbell’s personal involvement during installation, her creative designs and the high-quality finished product she delivers.

Founded in 2002 by John and Angela Sweet, Niedlov’s Breadworks is Chattanooga’s only organic bread baker. The company specializes in naturallyleavened, organic, hand-crafted, artisan breads.

Starting as a wholesale bakery, Niedlov’s initially supplied bread to fine dining establishments in the downtown area. Its original location was behind the Market Street Tire and Auto on 13th Street.

East Tech Company, Inc. offers precision engineering and custom-manufacturing, using the latest CNC (computerized numerical control) machining technology for applications in the power generation, asphalt paving, water treatment, automotive, textile and medical industries.

Business doubled the first two years after East Tech opened its doors in 2004. President and CEO Roger Layne started the company in a 10,000-square-foot building with a $1.2 million investment and $700,000 in state-of-the-art equipment. Three years later East Tech moved to a Centre South Riverport building, three times the size of the original location.

The company, whose customers include TVA, Westinghouse, Roadtec and Alstom Power, Inc., was named one of the 100 fast-growing Companies in Tennessee in 2007 by BusinessTN magazine.

Pointe General Contractors, LLC is a full-service general contractor whose projects range from small interior office renovations to multi-million dollar developments, with a focus on commercial office and automobile dealerships.

The company was created to service the needs of a few select area developers. Success led to additional opportunities in the Chattanooga area and throughout the Southeast. In four years Pointe General has grown to employ more than 30 full-time employees and has constructed facilities valued at over $30 million.

Pointe General President Rex Allen says the company works tirelessly to get projects completed on schedule and budget with the best customer service in the industry.

Aerisyn was founded by Wisconsin private investors eager to participate in the fast-growing wind energy market. They leased space for their facility from Alstom Power, Inc. which had three large bays available.

Under Hohl’s leadership Aerisyn finished 2006 with a total of 21 completed towers. During 2007 the workforce expanded to 140 employees and production grew to 69 towers. Aerisyn anticipates its 2008 production to exceed 100 towers.

After managing janitorial services for TVA, Pam Ladd founded Custom Custodial, Inc. in 1995 to create a janitorial company that combined high standards of customer service with fair and equitable human resources practices.

Leaving a high-level corporate position to start a company from scratch was risky and exhausting. In the beginning Ladd serviced most of her accounts, working long hours, seven days a week.

The company thrived, in part because of service that includes attention to the total care of the customer’s facility with staff reporting maintenance and security issues immediately.

Ladd receives plaudits for creating a company that provides opportunity for introducing many people to the job market, for allowing them upward mobility and for helping those needing a second job.

Siskin Children’s Institute is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with special needs and their families. The Institute, led by jerry jensen, president, achieves its mission through education and outreach programs and ongoing research in the field of disabilities.

Siskin Institute provides a quality preschool education to young children with and without disabilities, including children with developmental delays, cerebral palsy and autism spectrum conditions.

Praise for the Institute is summed up by an admirer who says, “The children who are able to attend Siskin Children’s Institute are truly fortunate, and the families of those children are deeply moved by the Institute’s care for their children.”

The YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga’s programs and services include health and fitness activities, child care, day camp, youth sports, family enrichment and over 30 programs for children and youth that provide tutoring, wholesome recreation and community involvement.

The YMCA contributes to the health of the community, supports families, works to prevent juvenile crime and offers parents of all incomes a caring and safe child care environment.

YMCA Chair and CEO Randy Brown says that last year almost 70,000 individuals participated in the yMCA as members, program participants, volunteers, staff or donors. from january through November of 2007 the yMCA provided scholarships totaling over $1.7 million.

The Small Business Awards Luncheon is held in conjunction with the Chamber’s Chattanooga Business EXPO, the city’s largest business trade show.