The Saint Francis University Small Business Development Center
2009 Small Business Award Winners
The Saint Francis University Small Business Development Center honored the winners of their 2009 Small Business Awards at their annual Awards Luncheon at noon on Wednesday, June 10 in the JFK Student Union on the Saint Francis University campus.
The awards recognized the outstanding achievements of the Southern Alleghenies Region’s most successful entrepreneurs and small business advocates. The winners are as follows:
 | Small Business Person of the Year Kevin G. Jones Lynbrooke Logistics Bedford, PA (Bedford County) |
Since Lynbrooke Logistics was founded by Kevin Jones in 2001, it has been a full-service third party logistics provider that specializes in offering a broad array of transportation and logistics services to facilitate the movement of freight from origin to destination. An ongoing mission at Lynbrooke Logistics, Inc. is to be a “world class” provider of transportation and logistics services.
 | Small Business Exporter of the Year Tom L. Mereen Bedford Forest Products, Inc. Bedford, PA (Bedford County) |
Bedford Forest Products, Inc. is a Pennsylvania log buying company owned and managed by Tom Mereen. Tom and his team bring more than fifty years of forestry background and extensive experience in the global marketplace to ensure that customers receive quality product and can rely on timely delivery. It also has over twenty years of experience in the export business and can ship to most regions in the world including the Pacific Rim, Western Europe and the Middle East.
 | Young Entrepreneur of the Year Brian F. Shrift Precision Business Solutions Ebensburg, PA (Cambria County) |
Brian Shrift is the founder of Precision Business Solutions, which is a full service IT consulting firm, with the four primary divisions servicing individual sectors. PrecisionBS Consulting is the primary division, working with business and government clients, supporting the businesses IT infrastructure and working with them to stay technologically current. Precision Business Solutions is dedicated to working with small businesses and local governments.
 | Financial Services Advocate of the Year Dewey E. Adams Mainline National Bank Ebensburg, PA (Cambria County) |
As Senior Vice President and Senior Business Development Officer of Mainline National Bank, Dewey is responsible for developing and maintaining business banking financial relationships and also advising and handling the financial needs of business owners and professionals. Dewey also works with businesses on cash management, investments, insurance needs and retirement plans. The clients Dewey has worked with range from small family businesses to large companies with more than $10,000,000 in annual revenues.
 | Women in Business Advocate of the Year Angela Gorzelsky Johnstown Credit Bureau, Inc. Johnstown, PA (Cambria County) |
Angela joined the Johnstown Credit Bureau as Marketing Executive in 1999. In 2004 Angela was promoted to Manager. Angela’s responsibilities include handling day to day operations of the credit bureau, while directing marketing and customer service. The Johnstown Credit Bureau has been in operation since 1927.