SBA accepts nominations for Small Biz Week Awards through early December

SYRACUSE — The Syracuse-Upstate New York district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says it will take nominations for the 2025 national and district Small Business Week Awards through early December. The honors include the annual Small Business Person of the Year Award. The SBA wants to recognize small businesses with “exceptional” innovation, growth, community engagement, or resilience, per its announcement. Last year’s winners included businesses located in Syracuse, Cortland, and Albany. “During National Small Business Week, we will showcase and recognize some of the most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs in Upstate New York,” Dan Rickman, director of the Syracuse-Upstate New York district office, said in a statement. “We are asking local chambers of commerce, business associations, lenders and other small business groups for assistance in finding and nominating candidates for these awards.” Those interested can visit the SBA’s awards website (www.sba.gov/nsbw) to download forms, criteria, and guidelines for submitting a nomination. The Syracuse-Upstate New York district office nomination guidelines and district awards categories can also be found on SBA’s dedicated website (https://www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week/district-office-awards). SBA says it will accept only electronic submissions for nominations, and they must be sent to the district’s box account no later than 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 5.

Award categories

Syracuse-Upstate New York district Small Business Week categories include the following: • Small Business Person of the Year (National and District) • Small Business Exporter (National and District) Local district awards include: • Minority Small Business Champion or Business of the Year • Veteran Small Business Champion or Business of the Year • Women in Business Champion or Business of the Year • Rural Small Business Champion or Business of the Year