SBA Announces Nevada Winners
The Nevada district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently named the winners of its small business awards for 2006. Michael Micone, president and owner of Accountants Inc., was named SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Nevada. Accountants Inc., which provides staffing solutions for accounting and finance departments at numerous companies, has offices in both Reno and Las Vegas. Arcata Associates, Inc. was selected as Region IX (Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii and Nevada) Prime and Subcontractor of the Year. Arcata specializes in engineering services, information technology and multimedia, and was recognized for successfully achieving a balance between defense and non-defense work.
State Marketing Campaign Targets California
A Nevada-sponsored marketing campaign, titled “Missing,” encourages companies to exchange California’s anti-business legislation and high cost of living for Nevada’s pro-business climate and more affordable quality of life. The first phase of the campaign, launched in January, listed the California Grizzly Bear and Happy California Cows as “missing,” but later found doing business in Nevada. The second phase features the Hollywood Sign and Golden Gate Bridge. The multimedia campaign, targeted in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, includes oversized wallscapes, print ads and Webcasts. The “Missing” campaign was developed by the Nevada Economic Development Partnership, a coalition of Nevada-based economic development organizations, which has collaborated for the past three years on marketing efforts to attract California businesses. The two previous campaigns included “Will Your Business be Terminated?” and “Worst-Case Scenario.”
Hospital Opens in Pahrump
The 25-bed Desert View Regional Medical Center has opened in Pahrump, after a lengthy wait to get a community hospital for this Nye County town of more than 36,000 people. The hospital opening means Pahrump residents no longer have to travel 60 miles to Las Vegas for emergency medical care. The 71,000-square-foot, $30 million facility was developed by Rural Health Management Corp., based in Nephi, Utah. With a full-time staff of about 130 people, it includes 18 medical/surgical beds, four special care/ICU beds, three birthing suites, intensive care services, 24-hour emergency services, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, physical therapy and pharmacy.
Two Companies Honored by EDAWN
Two Northern Nevada companies were named “Business of the Year” award winners at EDAWN’s (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada) Annual Luncheon. The companies were recognized for exemplary contributions to the community, higher-than-average wages and generating new revenue in the market. Western Nevada Supply Company, headquartered in Sparks, was awarded in the large business category (100 or more employees). It is the largest single-location plumbing supply distributor of its kind on the West Coast. The small-business winner (99 or fewer employees), Full Circle Compost, is based in Minden. The company developed a plan to convert and reduce waste generated by a family dairy farm. Since then, it has expanded into a full-scale composting operation, recycling organic materials from the Tahoe Basin and the Carson Valley.
College Students Present Business Plans
Teams of students from Nevada colleges recently shared $100,000 in prizes at the second annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Business Plan Competition. Sierra Nevada College student Michael Chestone won first prize in the undergraduate division and was awarded $20,000 for his business idea called Simply Sun, a plan to use insulated glass windows to generate solar electricity. In the graduate division, UNLV student John Lynn won first prize and $20,000 for an online fundraising concept called FantasyHigh.com, which showed sports teams how to raise money by combining fantasy sports with high school sports. Plans from more than 70 Nevada college teams were judged based on a comprehensive list of criteria, including business strategies, market analysis, investment potential, operating strategies and effective use of technology. The business plan competition is funded in large part by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and managed by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.