From left to right: Don Barnes, Chair, Small Business Week of Eastern Missouri 2011; Rick Palank, St. Louis County Economic Council/Financial Services Champion of the Year; Bob Peters, Dungy, Peters and Associates, LLC/Minority Small Business Champion of the Year; Dorothy Lockard, Dietrich Lockard Group, inc./Women in Business Champion of the Year; Dennis Melton, St. Louis District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration; Elizabeth Pecha-Poelker, PrintFlex Graphics inc./Small Business Team of the Year; Derek Weber, goBRANDgo!, SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Brandon Dempsey, goBRANDgo!, SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Winners not pictured: Steve Baum and Jeff Feeney, PrintFlex Graphics inc./Small Business Team of the Year; Suzanne Lunnemann, Lunnemann Accounting Services, LLC/Home-Based Business Champion of the Year; Jeremy Amick, U.S. Department of Labor/Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year

Small Business Week is a nationwide celebration and recognition of small business owners, small business champions and government contractors, hosted and sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and celebrated at the district, state, regional and national level. It culminates every year with the national celebration in Washington, D.C. where the national award winners are recognized.

Small Business Week of Eastern Missouri, Inc. is a not for profit organization established to assist the U.S. Small Business Administration with the planning and execution of National Small Business Week in the SBA’s St. Louis District which encompasses the eastern half of Missouri.

Our week of events is widely recognized at the national level as one of, if not the, top district celebration of Small Business Week in the country. We’re the only district in the nation that hosts a full week of events as well as the only district with a not for profitt arm in place to assist the SBA in it’s efforts surrounding Small Business Week. In addition, we consistently see our nominees move on to win at the state, regional and national level, often in multiple categories.

For more information, please contact Patti Guttmann, US SBA, at 314.539.6600 x255 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or Don Barnes, Chair, Small Business Week 2011, at 636.220.6549 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .