Nominations Sought for 2nd Annual King County Executive's Small Business Awards

The nomination period for this year's King County Executive’s Small Business Awards is now open, according to a county press release Thursday. 

“Our second-annual awards will be even bigger and better than last year, and we are happy to recognize hard-working small business owners across King County,” said Executive Dow Constantine.

Last year, Enumclaw's Rockridge Orchards and Cidery took the award for Rural Small Business of the Year. ()

Businesses are eligible for nomination if they operate within King County, have 50 or fewer employees, and have been in business for at least three years. Cities, chambers of commerce, and certain business organizations may nominate local firms that meet the criteria. The nomination form can be found online at www.kingcounty.gov/smallbusinessawards.

"Small business is big business in King County with 26,000 small companies here," said Workforce Development Council Chief Executive Officer Marléna Sessions. 

The Executive’s Small Business Awards are sponsored in partnership with KeyBank, Microsoft Corporation, enterpriseSeattle, the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, and the Small Business Partners for Prosperity.

In its first year, a total of 125 firms were nominated. Three finalist firms were selected in each of seven categories, and winners were announced at a high-energy, breakfast-hour ceremony attended by nearly 250 people from local chambers of commerce, cities, and small business organizations. Businesses that were nominated last year but did not win are eligible for re-nomination this year.

The 2012 award ceremony will be held on October 10, 2012, at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, with appearances from emcee John Curley and the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline.

For more information, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/constantine/BusinessAward.aspx