TUCSON METROPOLITAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SMALL BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
Recipients must have high standards of business conduct, demonstrate productivity and leadership by responding to business challenges and be involved with community organizations.
Sally Fernandez
President, Safety Dynamics Inc.
Business address: 9030 S. Rita Road, Suite 100
Employees: 8
Business: Develops, designs and manufactures acoustic recognition systems. Core product is focused around gunshot technology. Affiliated with the University of Southern California neurobiology lab.
“Sally is incredibly energetic and extremely popular, very well-known and more importantly has the ability to assemble the right team of players to put together these companies that really do incredible things,” said Wayne Lundeberg, chief operating officer.
BUSINESS GROWTH
Winners must show they are unique and successful in handling growth or change in the marketplace.
1-30 employees Nextrio LLC 5225 N. Sabino Canyon Road
Employees: 27
Business: Professional IT services firm, takes care of everything related to computers and networking for small and midsize businesses in Southern Arizona.
“We’re either the whole enchilada or we’re the SWAT team when it comes to IT,” said Cristie Street, managing partner.
31-75 employees Paragon Space Development Corp.
3481 E. Michigan St.
Employees: 46
Business: Aerospace-technology development firm that is a leader in environmental controls and life-support systems intended for extreme environments.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for Tucson to get to know who we are as a company. It’s a wonderful feeling. We are very pleased to be in this category.” Said Leslie Melton, marketing coordinator.
76-250 employees Engineering and Environmental Consultants Inc.
4625 E. Fort Lowell Road
Employees: 130
Business: Civil-engineering and environmental-consulting firm in areas of transportation and residential and commercial land development. (2004 winner for Best Place to Work.)
“It instills a sense of pride in our company and of course it is a great way to describe ourselves to clients and candidates so they know how we’re perceived by our community.” said Susan LeClair, human-resources manage
COMMUNITY SERVICE
These businesses showed they have invested in the community through volunteerism and contributions to non-profit organizations.
1-30 employees Elastek
3700 S. Palo Verde Road
Employees: 20
Business: Manufacturer of environmentally sound and energy-saving roof coating products.
“The company is a good corporate citizen. They’re always giving back to the community that’s supported them. They give 10-15 percent of renue back to the community. It’s kind of like tithing. For a small company, our employees are very active, too, in the community themselves.” Said Bonnie Lewis, marketing director.
31-75 employees Breault Research Organization
6400 E. Grant Road, Suite 350
Employees: 50
Business: Optics firm that does software and consulting for the optics industry aznd lighting for the auto industry. (1998 and 2001 winner for the Best Place to Work.)
Chairman of the Board and founder Bob Breault “is very big on community service and will even pay his employees during working time to do community service.” said Phyllis McClure, Breault’s assistant.
BEST PLACE TO WORK
These companies were found to encourage growth, education and development for their employees via the work environment or employee benefits.
1-30 employees Simpleview Inc.
7430 N. La Cholla Blvd.
Employees: 40
Business: Multimedia marketing and communications company that builds Web sites and offers software solutions to help businesses manage their accounts and contacts.
We’re really excited because we have such a diverse group of people here… Our company is really attractive for potential employees because we are so diverse and offer the right opportunity. We’ve got the right people.” Said Gretchen Clarke, marketing director.
31-75 employees Heinfeld, Meech & Co. PC
10120 N. Oracle Road
Employees: 35 in Tucson, 75 statewide.
Business: Certified public accounting firm that does audits and consulting for mainly governmental entities and non-profits.
“It’s just kind of a reinforcement of what we know. Everybody that we work with, everybody that’s in office, we have a good time. We work hard, we play hard… You spend a lot of time at work and if you create an environment where people want to come to work, obviously that’s a lot better.” said Scott Kies, partner.
76-250 employees Beach, Fleishman & Co. PC
1985 E. River Road, Suite 201
Employees: 115
Business: Business advisory-services firm and Southern Arizona’s largest locally-owned accounting firm, specializing in tax planning and preparation, accounting and auditing, comprehensive business management and advising services.
“It acknowledges the founding partners’ commitment to their employees and the entrepreneurial culture that hey have created over the last 17 years.” said Lori Niederlehner, firm administrator.
SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Recipients are Tucson or Southern Arizona residents who are also freshman or returning sophomores at the University of Arizona. They are interested in a degree in business administration. These recipients will receive $2,000 scholarships toward business-related degrees.
31-75 employees