The founder, president and CEO of (add)ventures in Providence will be honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2008 Rhode Island Minority Small Business Person of the Year. Steve Rosa is among seven minority small business owners, advocates and SBA lenders who will receive awards during the annual Minority Enterprise Development Week awards dinner on October 15th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick.
The Rhode Island MED Week celebration, October 14 to October 17, is cosponsored by the SBA and the Rhode Island Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce.
MED Week is an observance celebrating the outstanding achievements of small minority businesses, and recognizes their significant contributions to the nation’s economy.
Rosa was nominated for the award by Charles Newton, director of the Rhode Island Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office. Rosa’s company, (add)ventures, is a full-service advertising and public relations firm.
“Steve Rosa is a tremendously successful business owner who is an inspiration and mentor, especially to minority and women entrepreneurs,” said Mark S. Hayward, director of the SBA Rhode Island District Office. “Steve is truly deserving of recognition as the minority small business person of the year.
Rosa founded (add)ventures, in 1989 when he recognized the need for a new kind of advertising and public relations agency. From an initial investment of a $289 typewriter purchased on a credit card, the company has grown to become a multidisciplinary communications consultancy with a global reach.
A trusted marketing and strategic communications partner to Fortune 500 companies, (add)ventures has been honored four times as one of the nation’s fastest-growing businesses by Inc. magazine.
DiversityBusiness.com has recently named the agency one of the Top 500 Diversity-Owned Businesses in the United States. (add)ventures has also been honored with a Blue Chip Enterprise Award, an InnerCity 100, and several International Summit and Communicator Awards for creative excellence.
Rosa has been featured and interviewed by publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Ideas magazine.
Rosa is a board member of City Year, an active participant with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, and is a graduate of Leadership Rhode Island, one of the most acclaimed leadership development programs in North America. Steve is a graduate of Boston College and is an active alumnus at LaSalle Academy.
SBA also will recognize the participating lenders for making the most loans to Rhode Island minority-owned small businesses during fiscal year 2008.
In addition to the awards dinner, the week long celebration includes a half dozen free professional development workshops, a networking reception, and a “matchmaker fair,” where small business owners meet individually with federal, state, and local government agency representatives and purchasing agents from major corporations to discuss business opportunities. All events will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
For more information about the Rhode Island Minority Enterprise Development Week activities, visit the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/ri, or call (401) 528-4561.
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