R.I. SBA names 2009 award winners

PROVIDENCE – Ann-Marie Harrington, founder and president of Embolden in Pawtucket, an Internet consulting and Web development firm, has been named Small Business Person of the Year by the Rhode Island office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Harrington and eight other award recipients will be honored at the Rhode Island Salute to Small Business Awards luncheon on June 10 at noon at the Alpine Country Club in Cranston. The event is co-sponsored by the Joseph G.E. Knight SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Chapter in Providence.

Harrington started her Web development and consulting firm in 1998 and said the company, which employs 18 people, offers “a whole range of services, from soup to nuts” for businesses and nonprofits interested in making the most of their Internet capabilities. Her business is located in 4,300 square feet in a renovated Pawtucket mill, with an open studio atmosphere, she said.

Harrington described herself as “thrilled and honored” to receive the SBA award. She also has been a three-time winner of the Sloan Award, which is presented to companies that are committed to workplace flexibility.

A former social worker, Harrington holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bryant University and a master’s in social work from Rhode Island College. On the Embolden Web site, she describes herself as a “trusted technology adviser, super geek, animal lover, jock and social worker, all rolled into one.”

Her business is booming. “We’ve seen tremendous growth over the past three years,” she told Providence Business News. “In fact, 2008 was our best year yet. With the down economy, what’s helped is that many of our clients are from across the country. We have clients in New England, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, even Alaska.”

Other winners include Providence Business News staff writer Denise Perreault, a Brown University graduate who joined the paper in March 2008 after working for many years as an award-winning editor and reporter at The Call in Woonsocket. Perreault, who covers small business, the creative economy and hospitality, was named Small Business Journalist of the Year for 2009 in Rhode Island.

In addition to Perreault, winners and their awards are:

• Clifton Boyle, vice president of academic affairs, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, SBA Rhode Island District Director Award.

• Robert J. Beadle, president, Northeast Public Relations Inc., Central Falls, Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

• Marcus Fountoulakis, president and CEO of DaMa Quality Jewelry Components, Johnston, Small Business Exporter of the Year.

• Charles F. Reade Jr., president, Reade Metals and Minerals Corp., East Providence, Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year.

• Dorothy Reynolds, program manager, the R.I. Procurement Technical Assistance Center in Providence, Women in Business Champion of the Year.

• Sean Solley, president of Solley Design, Barrington, Joseph G.E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

• Ardena Lee-Fleming, regional director, R.I. Small Business Development Center, Warwick, Minority Small Business Champion of the Year.

In addition, Beadle, Fountoulakis, Reade and Reynolds also won the regional New England awards in the same categories.

Additional information is available at SBA.gov.