FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 12, 2024

NSBA Announces Advocate of the Year Award Winner

Washington, D.C. — The National Small Business Association (NSBA) today announced the winner and finalists for the 2024 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award as part of its annual fly-in, the Washington Presentation during which hundreds of small-business owners will take to Capitol Hill advocating on behalf of America’s small-business owners.

“NSBA has an amazing group of award winners this year, led by the dynamic Amy Wood of Flint Avenue in Lubbock, Texas,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Part of what makes our community of small businesses so special is the belief in and dedication to small business as part of the American dream. I am honored to recognize Ms. Wood along with our other award winners, and on behalf of small-business owners everywhere, I thank them for their tireless efforts.”

Amy Wood is an outspoken advocate locally, across the state of Texas and nationally, and her efforts on the policy front extend far beyond just those policies that impact her firm. She is highly engaged in various entrepreneurship programs, providing training and mentorship through the Innovation Hub at Texas Tech University, the Rawls College of Business and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and South Plains College. Not only is Wood committed to entrepreneurship, she prioritizes the well being of her entire team and continues to expand grow her firm.

In addition to Amy Wood, NSBA honored the following small-business advocates:

• Jade Baranski, co-founder and CEO of Mobilize VISION in Arvada, Colo., an R&D solutions company that harnesses data and purpose for federal and enterprise organizations.

• Kaelyn Query Caldwell, founder and CEO of Kentucky Event Company in Lexington, Ky., an intensive hands-on event planning, consulting and management firm.

• Prem Mirpuri, CEO and co-founder of Brightpoint Infotech in Coral Springs, Fla., which consults on scalable implementations, integrations, migrations, upgrades and more.

• J.J. Tomash, CEO of BehaviorSpan, a children’s autism services company in Aurora, Colo. that provides Applied Behavior Analysis for children on the ASD spectrum.

• Laura Truncellito, CEO and CTO of Enployable, Inc. in Tysons, Va., the leading value-based, human-centered, privacy-first AI job matching platform.

• LaMar Holliday, CEO of The Holliday Collaborative Agency in Indianapolis, Ind., a strategic partnership firm offering public relations, marketing, and communications guidance was recognized as the NSBA Rising Star, an award recognizing individuals relatively new to advocacy who are making an impressive impact.

Among the key criteria used in determining award finalists is a commitment to small-business advocacy above and beyond policies that specifically impact their own business or industry, as well as a broad scope of volunteer efforts to advance and improve small business.

Celebrating more than 85 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA’s 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.NSBAadvocate.org or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.