ParsonsKellogg president named R.I. Small Business Person of the Year

THOMAS KELLOGG III and his wife Leslie look at one of the hats they embroider at their business, ParsonsKellogg LLC, with employee Adriana Escobar. Kellogg was named Rhode Island’s Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS
THOMAS KELLOGG III and his wife Leslie look at one of the hats they embroider at their business, ParsonsKellogg LLC, with employee Adriana Escobar. Kellogg was named Rhode Island’s Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. / PBN FILE PHOTO/STEPHANIE ALVAREZ EWENS

(Updated 10:55 a.m.)
EAST PROVIDENCE – Thomas Parsons Kellogg III, president of ParsonsKellogg LLC, has been named Rhode Island’s Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
ParsonsKellogg, a distributor of promotional products, has been in business since 2001.
Kellogg said on Tuesday that he is honored to be selected.
“It’s a reflection of our whole company. We have a great group of loyal employees that have been around a long time … We really like being a Rhode Island business. Most of our employees are home-grown and we have an active internship program,” Kellogg said.
ParsonsKellogg, which came close to filing for bankruptcy during the Great Recession, has turned itself around. It was the seventh-fastest-growing company in Rhode Island last year among private companies with revenue of $5 million to $25 million, according to PBN research. The company has a 27 percent growth rate from 2012-2014, when annual revenue grew $3.7 million.
Winners representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands were announced Monday; they have been invited to attend SBA ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on May 1 and 2, where the National Small Business Person of the Year will be announced.

SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said that the 54 winners “represent the best of the best and showcase daily their entrepreneurial spirit and what it takes to be successful in today’s evolving and competitive business environment.”
National Small Business Week will be held May 1-7.
“There are more than 28 million small businesses serving as the economic engine of our country, employing half of the private sector and creating two out of three net new jobs. If our small business sector was a country, its output would rank number three above Germany and Japan. I’m looking forward to welcoming these talented entrepreneurs to their nation’s capital and celebrating their stories to shine a light on American ingenuity and innovation,” she said in a statement.

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