Northeast Kentucky small business awards slated for Sept. 9

The 23rd Annual Northeast Kentucky Small Business Awards Breakfast will be held at the Boyd County Convention and Arts Center Thursday, Sept. 9. The awards ceremony is presented by the Kentucky Small Business Development Center in Ashland. Rob Johnson from WSAZ News Channel 3 will host the event.   

The breakfast will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and feature local entrepreneur Jason Camp as the keynote speaker. Camp is one of the owners of Smokin J’s and The Winchester, located in the Marriott Delta in downtown Ashland, and recently purchased the KYOVA Mall in the Summit area.

Small Business Awards will be presented for:

• New business of the year
• Ecommerce
• Emerging Business of the Year
• Retail Business of the Year
• Service Business of the Year

Also, the Small Business Champion of the Year and Young Entrepreneur of the Year will be announced from nominations from the Boyd, Carter, Greenup, Elliott and Lawrence County small business arena.  

“It’s important for the SBDC to recognize small business because that’s the backbone to the program,” said Rachel Bowling, Morehead State SBDC director. “We want to help small businesses start, grow and stay in Kentucky.”

The 2021 Northeast Kentucky Small Business Awards are sponsored by: Ashland Community and Technical Center, Andrews Tackett & Associates, Citizens Bank of Kentucky, City National Bank, Commercial Bank of Grayson, Community Trust Bank, Duvall and Moore Funeral Home, Electronic Village Enterprises, First National Bank, First and Peoples Bank and Trust Company, FIVCO Area Development District, Fyffe Jones Group, Grayson Area Chamber of Commerce, Grayson Art Gallery, Primary Plus, Huntington National Bank, Kentucky Educational Development Corporation, Kings Daughter’s Medical Center, Marathon Petroleum Company, Olive Hill Chamber of Commerce, Paradise Pools and Spas, Peoples Bank, Pure Country Automotive Center, Riffe Contracting, SOAR Innovation and State Farm/Wilhoit Insurance Agency.  

Per CDC recommendations, masks will be required at the event, and participants should practice social distancing. 

Kentucky SBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment in partnership with regional academic institutions, economic development organizations, the private sector, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Morehead State University’s Small Business Development Center has been a part of the network since 1983.  

For more information, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/sbdc, email sbdc@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2895.