[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 66 (Thursday, May 10, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3079-S3080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            2011 U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION HONOREES

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, every year the U.S. Small Business 
Administration, SBA, honors our country's local entrepreneurs, 
hardworking Americans who have built businesses from ideas and created 
jobs for their communities. I would like to congratulate the eight 
outstanding entrepreneurs from Connecticut who were recognized in 2011, 
most especially, A. Gregory Bachmann of Torrington, Connecticut's DYMAX 
Corporation, who

[[Page S3080]]

was named 2011 Connecticut Small Business Person of the Year.
  The SBA has advocated for small businesses in Connecticut since 1953, 
providing assistance through the Federal Small Business Innovation 
Research, SBIR, Program, facilitated at Connecticut Innovations. This 
support has included more than $500 million of financing, education and 
training, and procurement aid for individuals with big ideas and 
businesses wanting to expand by taking technological risks.
  The winner of the Small Business Person of the Year award must meet 
eight sets of criteria, including staying power, growth in number of 
employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past 
financial performance, innovativeness of product or service offered, 
response to adversity, contributions to community-oriented projects, 
and the products exported and markets served.
  In 1979, Mr. Bachmann inherited the business his parents had started 
in their basement. Now, DYMAX makes its home in a 100,000 square foot 
building and operates facilities globally, including in Germany, China, 
Hong Kong, and Korea. It offers innovative technology, such as 
adhesives, coatings, epoxies, masking resins, and light-curing systems, 
to manufacturers who rely on innovative solutions for reliable, cost-
effective, and quick automated assembly. Most recently, DYMAX has 
successfully experimented with UV and LED technology as a cutting-edge 
way for companies to grow. In addition to the tremendous progress Mr. 
Bachmann has made since his parents' vision, I commend him for ensuring 
that his company remains environmentally conscious while making 
remarkable strides in research and development. DYMAX also gives back 
to Connecticut's less fortunate, and has received an award from United 
Way of Northwest Connecticut for ``conducting the most unique employee 
incentive program'' for contributions to their annual food drive.
  In addition to the title of Small Business Person of the Year, the 
SBA recognizes seven other businesses or individuals in Connecticut 
every year as Minority Small Business Champion, Veterans Advocate 
Champion, Explorer of the Year, the Jeffrey Butland Family Owned 
Business of the Year, Region One Subcontractor of the Year, Women in 
Business Champion, and Financial Services Champion.
  Clayton Williams and Dennis Brown are two of the 2011 awardees who 
are driven by their passion for the potential of small businesses and 
the ways they can transform lives. I have seen firsthand the tremendous 
roots local businesses have set in New Haven and the central part they 
play in the city's community, so it is no surprise that Mr. Williams, 
the city of New Haven's small business development officer, received 
the 2011 Minority Small Business Champion award. He has worked 
tirelessly on behalf of minority entrepreneurs as part of the Office of 
Economic Development to help fund and sustain the best, most promising 
ideas in the New Haven area. Veterans Advocate Champion Dennis Brown 
was awarded for his service as vice president of Business Counseling 
for Connecticut Community Investment Corporation, a nonprofit that 
works with small business owners to secure loans and develop strategy. 
A veteran and recipient of an SBA veteran's loan in 1982, Mr. Brown 
demonstrates that dreams can be realized with persistence. I applaud 
the SBA for recognizing the importance of providing for our Nation's 
heroes who wish to run their own businesses once returning home.
  In addition, every year the SBA names an Explorer of the Year in 
Connecticut, acknowledging that risk confronts business owners every 
day. 2011 winner, On Site Gas Systems of Newington and its president, 
Frank X. Hursey, are committed to the most cutting-edge solutions and 
designs for reliable sources of gas used by a comprehensive set of 
industries, including emergency response, food preservation, 
automobile, and by our military.
  Often, it is family owned businesses, hoping to continue the legacy 
of previous generations that become reliable sources of products or 
services central to their communities. The SBA named Jim Nilsson, owner 
and managing partner of Geissler's Supermarkets of South Windsor, as 
the 2011 Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year. In 1923, 
Geissler's was a small storefront, and now it offers online shopping 
and delivery. Often family businesses in Connecticut also win other 
categories, and in 2011, the SBA honored Region 1 Subcontractor of the 
Year Thomas Dolan, Jr., for his work as president of Hi-Rel Products in 
Essex. Hi-Rel Products was started in the early 1970s by Mr. Dolan's 
father, who worked out of his Old Saybrook home to experiment with 
reliable precision components for microelectronics. Now, this 
technology has applications across a wide range of industries. 
Currently, Hi-Rel employs approximately 100 people in the United 
States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
  Lastly, I would like to recognize Margaret Sheahan, 2011 Women in 
Business Champion, and Patrick Lorent, 2011 Financial Services 
Champion, for their work in Connecticut in the legal and financial 
lending industries, respectively. Ms. Sheahan is founding partner of 
Mitchell & Sheahan of Redding and provides important legal counsel in 
employment and union disputes. Mr. Lorent was honored by the SBA for 
his role as vice president and manager of People's United Bank 
Government Lending Department where he connects United Bank with 
national, statewide, and local lending programs. This important work 
provides vital lifelines to the small businesses of Connecticut that 
can continue to focus on research and development without worrying 
about their protection and sustenance.
  The SBA continues to raise awareness and support for Connecticut's 
local entrepreneurs with their annual awards. The SBA and its 2011 
honorees are inspirational, showing our Nation's budding business 
owners and leaders how to grow an idea to global proportions--driven by 
the most advanced research and technology and steadfast confidence in 
the American legacy of starting from the beginning to achieve 
greatness.

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