Washington, D.C. — On Monday, June 10, Joyonna Gamble-George, co-founder of SciX, LLC in Lutz, Florida was recognized as a finalist for the National Small Business Association’s 2019 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. The honor was given in conjunction with NSBA’s annual event, the Washington Presentation, and recognizes small-business owners who go above and beyond in advocating for policies to improve America’s small-business community.
“Joyonna Gamble-George has been an outspoken champion of small inventors through her advocacy of the Small Business Innovation and Research program,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Her vision, dedication and leadership on this and other key small-business issues has made a difference for the better for America’s small businesses.”
Beyond her business and its research, Gamble-George has been very active in efforts to bolster the highly-successful Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) program. She has lobbied Members of Congress to increase federal budget caps for SBIR, authored op-eds for national publications, initiated a social media campaign, and served as a speaker for a webinar on how to communicate effectively with policymakers about the R&D performed at small businesses. Gamble-George also urged her U.S. Senators to serve on the Senate NIH Caucus. In the past year, Gamble-George was selected to receive the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Small Business Expo.
“Without advocates like Joyonna Gamble-George, programs like SBIR wouldn’t be as successful as they are,” stated NSBA Board Chair Sharon Toerek of Toerek Law. “She is a determined leader on small-business policy and I’m proud to recognize her hard work.”
In addition to honoring Gamble-George, NSBA also recognized Calvin Mills, Jr., of CMC Technology Solutions and SLT Technology, Inc in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as the overall award winner and finalists Richard Fleming of State Tax Group, LLC in Farmers Branch, Texas and Brian Morales of Pro-Cal Electrical Contracting in Vista, California.
Celebrating more than 80 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA’s 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.