EAST LANSING – Michigan’s small business community gathered to celebrate 50 of the state’s up and coming small businesses Wednesday night at a gala held at Michigan State University that attracted more than 700 attendees, as well as Gov. Jennifer Granholm who warmed up the crowd with a rousing keynote speech lauding the impact of small business on the Michigan economy.
She also announced that Chris Holman, former chairman of the Small Business Association of Michigan, and a media personality in Lansing, was named the Small Business Advocate for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., a new position.
Granholm said she wanted Michigan to be known as the most small business friendly state in the nation with programs like her 21st Century Jobs Fund, which will award $2 billion to promising technology-focused startups over the next decade. Some $396 million will be awarded in the next year or so, she said. In March, 505 companies applied for a piece of the funding pie. Another round will open in August.
The highlight of the evening was the awards, including the Michigan 50 Companies To Watch, second round companies with at least $1 million in revenue and a half dozen employees. About half of the receipients were technology companies.
Michigan Celebrates Small Business also presented nine other awards. Those included:
Innovation of the Year: All-silicon clock generator developed by Mobius Microsystems of Detroit;
Procurement Technical Assistance Centers Government Contract Procurement Award: Lowery Computer Products, Brighton;
Best Small Business, Main Street USA: Primera Plastics of Zeeland;
Small Business Person of the Year: Keith Malmstadt, CEO, Great Lake Wood of Holland;
Women In Business Champion of the Year: Joan Schroeder of National City Bank in Milford;
Financial Services Champion of the Year: Eric Seifert, Community Shore Bank of Muskegon;
Journalist of the Year: Sheena Harrison, Crain’s Detroit Business;
Minority Small Business Champion of the Year: Dante Villarreal of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center in Grand Rapids;
Small Business Counselor of the Year: Pat Salo of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center in Troy.
