Florida Small Business Person of the Year Ann Sabbag and other area business leaders with state honors were celebrated Thursday during the 20th Annual Small Business Week Celebration at the University of North Florida’s University Center.
The U.S Small Business Administration recognized Sabbag, Health Designs Inc. president, as its “Small Business Person of the Year.”
Ronald Rose, Nova Pressroom Products, was named “Small Business Exporter of the Year.”
Charles Armstrong, D2 Capital investment advisor, was chosen “Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year.”
Anthony Marlow, owner of the Golden Lion Café, was selected “Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year.”
Joanne Jolin, Atlantic Coast Bank Small Lending Division vice president, was named “Financial Services Champion of the Year.”
In addition, several North Florida lenders were presented awards.
Like Sabbag, several of the winners also have received honors at the regional, state and district level.
“I feel abundantly blessed to be recognized for work that I truly love. On Sunday nights, I still get goose bumps because I get to go back to do the work that I was meant to do in this world,” Sabbag said during her acceptance speech.
She credited the UNF Small Business Development Center, among other resources, for helping her to succeed.
Dan Roam, author of “The Back of the Napkin,” provided the keynote address about the need for business owners to expand their ideas and potential through visual thinking. Doing so can improve communications and sales, he said.
“Instead of trying to remember a string of words, we actually have the ability to define an image in visual form and remember it,” Roam said.
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