CommunityWorks and the Greenville Chamber hosted the seventh annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Small Business Awards last night. Over 150 guests gathered at Embassy Suites by Hilton Greenville Golf Resort and Conference Center to celebrate small businesses, where they enjoyed a reception followed by the program and awards presentation.

Tim Pecoraro, Founder of Uphill Strategies, served as the emcee. Ebony Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of Cassy Electric, delivered the keynote address. The event was sponsored by 17 companies and seven local businesses received awards. The awards were selected by an expert panel of local business leaders and past award winners. The awards that were given and award winners are as follows:

The Young Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by SCTAC, honors young business owners who combine their sense of community, today’s technology, and innovative business models to create some of Greenville’s most unique small businesses. The Young Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Lakesha Quarles, owner of Sunflower Births.

The Minority-Owned Business of the Year, sponsored by NHE, Inc., honors those who commit to building communities as well as their businesses and strives to serve as leaders and visionaries to create change. The Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year Award was presented to Blue Eye Soft Corp and accepted by owner, Srikanth Kodeboyina.

The Woman-Owned Business of the Year, sponsored by Truist, honors a woman entrepreneur who has experienced the rewards and difficulties of owning a business. This award was presented to His Daycare, LLC and accepted by owner, Ruth Buckmire.

The Entrepreneurial Success Award, sponsored by Surcee, recognizes the power of small businesses to use innovation to create jobs and expand their business model.
This year’s winner is Group Therapy Pub & Playground owned by Matthew Hubbard.

The Small Business Champion Award, sponsored by Greenville Technical College, is given to a business that fulfills a commitment to serve small businesses and entrepreneurs through innovative services and support. This year’s Small Business Champion Award winner is Bridge City Coffee, owned by Greg Ward.

The My Favorite Small Business Award, sponsored by Piedmont Natural Gas, is also voted on by the selection committee and recognizes a business that excelled across many different award categories. This year’s award recipient is C.O.R.E. grow strong, owned by Currie Gossett.

Excellence in Entrepreneurship Small Business Awards would not be possible without the help of generous sponsors. Each sponsor generously contributed to support small businesses throughout the Upstate and make the event a success. The sponsors for
this year’s event are as follows:

Presenting sponsors: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and Wells Fargo

Keynote address sponsor: Count On Us Controller Services

Media sponsor: Greenville Business Magazine

Gold sponsors: Greenville Technical College, NHE, Piedmont Natural Gas, Truist, Surcee, South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center

Silver sponsors: Cowart Awards, GrayCliff Capital, and South State Bank

Bronze sponsors: Business Development Corporation, Greenville Area Development Corporation, South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, Southern First Bank