SBA Names City of Sioux City as the 2016 Iowa SBA Small Business Community of the Year

The Iowa District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration has named the city of Sioux City as the recipient of its 2016 Iowa SBA Small Business Community of the Year Award.

This is the second year for the award, which highlights community efforts to support small business. Communities (defined as a city, town, county, regional economic development or planning district) were invited to submit nominations to the SBA’s Iowa District Office showcasing their efforts to support small businesses. Submissions were judged on the following criteria:

• Key programs and incentives implemented to attract and retain small businesses.

• Leveraging of community resources with other federal, state, county and local programs to benefit the small business community.

• Examples of how the community directly contributed to the success of a local small business.

Sioux City was selected for demonstrating an ideal collaborative environment for small business success. Initiatives that Sioux City was recognized for included Start-Up Sioux City, a collaborative effort between private and public interests to nurture and encourage entrepreneurship within the city. Sioux City’s leveraging of federal, state and local government, higher education and community resources was also recognized for helping the city create an ideal small business culture.

"We are honored to receive this recognition that highlights the efforts of so many to grow Sioux City's entrepreneurial culture,” said Mayor Bob Scott. “This award recognizes the partnerships that have been created to help startups succeed in our community."

“The SBA is pleased to recognize Sioux City as the 2016 SBA Iowa Small Business Community of the Year,” said Jayne Armstrong, district director of the SBA’s Iowa District Office. “As the lead federal agency for small business, the SBA appreciates the city’s collaborative economic development efforts. We look forward to working even more closely with the city in the future.”

The award will be presented to Sioux City at the Iowa Smart Conference in Des Moines on April 28^th. Sioux City will also be recognized at the SBA’s 2016 Small Business Week Reception held in West Des Moines on May 6^th.  The SBA also plans to re-present the award at a special ceremony in Sioux City at a later date this spring.  

Sioux City was selected from nominations from small towns, larger cities and regional economic corridors statewide. The selection committee included representatives from the SBA, the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, USDA Rural Development, America’s SBDC - Iowa, SCORE and the Women’s Business Center at the Iowa Center for Economic Success.

In recognition of the small business community’s contributions to the American economy and society, the President of the United States designates one week each year as National Small Business Week. Scheduled for the week of May 1st of this year, Small Business Week 2016 will honor the more than 28 million small businesses in America. Since its establishment in 1963, the highlight of this annual tradition is the presentation of awards which focus on the outstanding contributions of small business persons at the district, state and national levels.

For more information on Small Business Week 2016, visit https://www.sba.gov/nsbw/nsb.

Contact: Dave Lentell    (515) 284-4522