Recognizing the Big Impact of Small Business
Chamber Salutes Three Companies, One Nonprofit at Awards Luncheon
The Chamber honored Niedlov’s Breadworks, Inc., Optimum Staffing, Inc. and EMJ Corporation as the Small Business Award recipients for 2009. The Metropolitan YMCA was recognized as the outstanding nonprofit agency of the year.
"I’m proud to work for a Chamber that cares so much about small business that more than a thousand people will turn out to celebrate their accomplishments," Chamber President and CEO Tom Edd Wilson told the Convention Center audience at the awards luncheon. "I was a regional president for Bank of America before I took the helm of the Chamber, which is a small business with just 30 employees. I know the challenges of managing a large enterprise as well as what it’s like to worry about payroll."
Wilson reminded the group that although economic times are hard, with the Volkswagen, BlueCross BlueShield and Alstom projects here and the Wacker Chemie AG plant in Bradley County, the region has multi-billion dollar investments to give us cause for hope.
SBA Award Recipients:
Winner 1-20 Employees
Niedlov’s Breadworks, Inc. is a traditional artisan bread bakery, specializing in handcrafted, made-from-scratch breads and pastries. Niedlov’s opened in 2002 with the goal of becoming an integral part of Chattanooga’s downtown community by offering the highest quality baked goods.
Founder and owner John Sweet was inspired by the bakeries of Europe during a year he spent in Germany as an exchange student. He attended the American Institute of Baking where he acquired technical expertise and went on to manage production at Zingerman’s Bakehouse, in Ann Arbor, MI, where he met his wife, Angela.
Starting as a wholesale bakery, Niedlov’s initially supplied bread to fine dining establishments in the downtown area.
In 2007, they completed the restoration of a dilapidated building on Main Street and re-opened with the addition of a retail bakery and café offering a wide variety of bread, breakfast pastries, sandwiches, coffee and espresso.
The bakery serves local not-for-profits through donations of baked goods for events and fund raising. Beneficiaries include the Community Kitchen, Chattanooga Endeavors and Habitat for Humanity.
Winner 21-50 Employees
Optimum Staffing, Inc. is a family-owned business that provides innovative staffing services based on quality, accountability, performance and customized solutions in partnership with clients, candidates and community.
Under the leadership of founder and CEO Jeannie Hart, the company’s revenues rose from $2.8 million in 2002 to $38 million in 2006, while the company expanded to seven branches throughout Tennessee, Georgia and Oklahoma. Optimum recently added operations in North Carolina and Missouri.
Optimum Staffing provides Better Employee Skills Testing or B.E.S.T., for short. Standard applicant screening and testing methods include: drug testing, background verification, employment eligibility verification and behavioral evaluations; and skill testing for accounting, call center, clerical, industrial, IT, legal, medical and sales.
The company shares its success by supporting families in need, community programs, professional organizations and global outreaches such as the House of David Ministries and World Harvest Outreach Ministries.
Winner 51-200 Employees
EMJ Corporation is a nationally recognized general contractor licensed to conduct business in 44 states. Corporate headquarters are located in Chattanooga, with satellite offices in Boston, Dallas and Sacramento.
EMJ-built corporate properties in Chattanooga range from U.S. Xpress to the Hunter Museum to Covenant Transport.
Signal Wind Energy, a majority-owned subsidiary of EMJ, is a leader in the wind industry.
Founded in 1968 by Edgar M. Jolley, EMJ has built over 500-million-square feet of construction projects nationwide. EMJ’s sales have risen from $419 million in 2004 to $856 million last year.
EMJ CEO Jim Sattler has 33 years of construction experience which has helped EMJ become one of the largest retail builders in the country, according to Retail Traffic Magazine , and to rank No. 59 in Engineering News-Record’s Top 400 Contractors.
EMJ management has been involved in leadership positions in Junior Achievement, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Prison Prevention Ministry.
Nonprofit of the Year
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga has been a vital part of the community since 1871. The Y is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization with Randy A. Brown, serving as chairman and CEO.
In 2008, the YMCA employed almost 1,200 full- and part-time staff and touched the lives of over 55,000 individuals. The YMCA worked with 75 community partners to provide services in over 40 locations and provided almost $1.8 million in financial assistance.
Besides health and fitness activities, the YMCA provides child care, day camp, youth sports, programs for at-risk youth and over 30 programs for children and youth.
Through these programs, the YMCA contributes to the health of the community, supports families and builds tomorrow’s leaders.
SBA Finalists:
1-20 Employees
Founded in 2004 by Joe Burke, a veteran of engineering management, Brown Dog Construction specializes in residential and commercial remodeling and restoration.
Brown Dog set up a woodworking, cabinetry, and finishing shop at the Chamber’s Business Development Center in 2006.
By 2008, excellent word-of-mouth and other marketing efforts resulted in a tripling of Brown Dog’s total business as compared with the first two years. Projects included home remodeling as well as construction of decks and custom furniture.
Although a small company, Brown Dog has assembled a wealth of in-house experts in home improvement trades. The company provides state-of-the-art design and estimating services to help clients define their projects. Brown Dog also has a complete woodworking/cabinet shop for producing cabinetry and custom woodworking for any project.
The company responded to the economic pinch by launching a website --www.browndogconstruction.com -- showcasing projects and clients’ feedback, and by initiating spot advertisements.
Brown Dog’s community service includes volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, ITT Technical Institute and Green/Spaces.
Scenic City Scooters founder Jen Obal was attending college in Ohio when she discovered a new interest -- vintage scooters. A decade later her continuing passion inspired her to open Scenic City Scooters in 2004 with her husband, Stan, and parents, Hugh and Kathy Schein.
The business got off the ground with five scooters and 1,800-square-feet on Hixson Pike. At that time, one of the biggest challenges was helping people understand that a scooter was a DOT-approved, registered vehicle with speeds up to 120 mph that allows riders to drive all over Chattanooga for just pennies.
Scenic City Scooters advertised, launched a web site and started establishing a presence as the tri-state’s first and only state-licensed, dedicated scooter shop.
On average, Scenic City Scooters has grown over 25% each year, but the business is cyclical. The owners combat that rollercoaster with open houses, seasonal sales, service specials, and internet communications with the customer base.
In July, 2008, Scenic City Scooters moved to a 4,100-square-foot location at 2248 Dayton Blvd. that increased foot traffic dramatically and allowed the owners to expand their product line, resulting in the best winter season yet.
SBA Finalists:
21-50 Employees
Aquaterra Engineering, LLC is a Chattanooga-based earth science engineering and site development consulting firm with offices in principal cities throughout the Southeast.
Founded in 1961, the company offers a wealth of knowledge and experience from a staff that includes engineers, geologists, scientists, surveyors and technicians -- trained and skilled in the earth science and construction disciplines.
According to Victor Donald, president and founder of Aquaterra, the firm provides a complete property development consulting solution.
The company has provided services to a range of local customers including the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and Mapco Mart stores. Aquaterra has also undertaken water quality improvements and stream restoration efforts in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
Like many small businesses, Aquaterra has overcome obstacles. Through two separations from parent companies in the 1980’s and 2001, Aquaterra has risen above the adversities and continues to thrive. In 1992 Jim Brewer Sr., his wife Vicki, and their son Jim II, formed Brewer Broadcasting, the precursor to Brewer Media Group. The company focused on radio broadcasting initially and continues to own FM stations Power 94, Groove 93.5 FM, Jack FM 95.3 and Alive 105.
In 2006, Sandra Brewer, wife of Jim Brewer II, and the company began operating Chattanooga Traffic Network, providing traffic conditions to area radio and TV stations.
The next year the company founded www.ChattanoogaHasCars.com, an online listing of automobiles for sale specifically targeting the Chattanooga market. Then came www.ChattanoogaHasFun.com, featuring entertainment, dining and community interest content.
In 2008 with the company acquired the local weekly alternative newspaper, The Pulse. At that time Brewer Media Group was formed as the umbrella of the multi-media outlet.
The company has grown from 10 to 38 employees and last year’s revenues rose 6.4 percent.
Brewer has been twice nominated for the prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, in addition to receiving awards from Billboard Magazine and Black Radio Exclusive.
SBA Finalists:
51-200 Employees
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. is a 123-year-old Chattanooga law firm that has built a rich heritage of highly successful client service.
Since 2003 the firm’s revenue has grown over 90 percent. In that period the number of lawyers increased from 35 to 72 and the number of support staff grew from 55 to over 98. Mike St. Charles is president of the five-member board that manages the firm.
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has developed expertise in a range of areas that impact small businesses; it holds complimentary seminars on legal topics; and it provides in-house training and educational seminars for clients.
During 2008 members of the firm contributed more than 1,716 hours to unpaid work for clients who cannot afford to pay for legal services.
In 1997, Dan Cooke and his sister Becky Smith decided to branch out from grocery stores into the bread business and bought into the Panera Bread franchise.
The investment soon paid off as the company’s first Panera Bread Café opened in Chattanooga in 1998 and became one of the top five of 100 stores in the nation within six months.
The franchisee now owns and operates 16 of the cafés in the East Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Western North Carolina regions.
The company is committed to delivering handcrafted, fresh-baked, artisan bread along with great tasting soups, salads and sandwiches served in an atmosphere where people feel welcome and at home and where strong relationships are built with customers and vendors.
Active in community events, Panera has raised more than $70,000 through the Becky C. Smith Memorial Golf Tournament, inspired by Panera’s co-founder who passed away from breast cancer in 2007.
Nonprofit Finalists
Established in 1986, the Association for Visual Arts (AVA) has a membership of over 600, is run by a staff of six employees, receives leadership from a 21-member board and enjoys support from nearly 200 volunteers each year. Christa Mannarino is executive director.
With the mission to promote, advocate and support original visual art and artists, AVA served 54,000 individuals in 2007-2008 for an increase of nine percent over the previous fiscal year.
Services include visual art classes and exhibitions at the galleries and lab and lecture room at the AVA Center. Over the years AVA has developed some of the city’s most prestigious arts events, including 4 Bridges Arts Festival, Artists-in-the-Schools and Artstravaganza.
After 18 months of research, development and fundraising, AVA opened the city’s first state-of-the-art digital media center in 2008.
Teen Challenge goes into schools around the world working with teens to educate them about the dangers of drugs. The school teams consist of eight to 10 Teen Challenge residents and a staff member. These are men and women who once had problems with drugs, so they know what they are talking about when they work with teens.
Established in 1958 by David Wilkerson, Teen Challenge has grown to more than 201 centers in the United States and 300 centers world-wide. Roger Helle serves as executive director of Teen Challenge of the Mid-South.
Teen Challenge reaches out to people in juvenile halls, jails, and prisons. The "jail teams" help show inmates that there is hope for them to turn their lives around. And more importantly, the teams educate them about how to change their lives.
Many Teen Challenge centers offer a one-year residential program for adults, designed to help men and women learn how to live drug-free lives.
