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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Shelby County Chamber gathered alongside a long list of local business owners at the Pelham Civic Complex to hold its annual Small Business of the Year Awards Luncheon on May 22.

Seeking to highlight the importance and broad impact of small businesses within the county, the event also celebrated the individual entrepreneurial spirit of business owners as well as the families and team members that support them.

“We’re all glad and so happy that all of you took time out of your day to come and support the 12th annual Shelby County Small Business of the Year Award Luncheon,” said Rux Bentley, president of Rux Carter Insurance and vice chair of business development and support for the Shelby County Chamber. “Quite frankly, small business is what makes things go in our local communities, and we thank you all for that.”

The awards luncheon was presented by the Shelby County Chamber with the help of presenting sponsor Regions Bank and a number of local partners that included Calera Main Street, the Chelsea Business Alliance, Columbiana Main Street, the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce and Montevallo Main Street.

William Bew White III served as the award luncheon’s keynote speaker and delivered a talk focused on the inspiration, creation and development of his own company Summer Classics, which has now developed into Gabriella White LLC.

Gabriella White LLC, which operates a number of brands including Summer Classics, Gabby and Wendy Jane focuses on the development, design and sale of outdoor furniture and fabrics.

When asked to provide one piece of advice to young entrepreneurs seeking to start their own small business, White spoke on the importance of planning ahead.

“You get the future that you plan for,” White said. “If you just kind of run your business, your business will run you. If you plan—and if you talk to your employees, you’ll be amazed at what they will do and how they will come to the table and make it happen. I think that is how (Summer Classics) doubled every three-and-a-half years.”

Following White’s presentation and taking questions from the audience, Kirk Mancer of the Shelby County Chamber took to the podium to announce all 58 of the nominees that had been submitted to the chamber.

The nominees for this year’s awards were as follows:

• Alabama Custom Trailer and RV, LLC
• ARC
• Balance Infusion & Wellness
• Birmingham Mortgage Group
• Bluestein Barnes Wealth Management
• Brittani Morris – State Farm
• Business Telephones, Inc.
• CDI Janitorial Services
• Champy’s
• Christy Hayes Counseling
• Closettec
• Collins Insurance
• Creations Galore & Moore
• Crown Trophy
• C’s Cake & Coffee House
• CSC Services LLC Home Experts
• Drefit Studio
• EV Contracting
• EXP-commercial
• Floor Coverings International
• Giffen Recreation
• Highcrest Roofing & Construction
• Homeworx Birmingham, LLC
• Indigo Café & Bar
• InVision Eye Center Chelsea
• JDA Promo
• Just Fab by Kayla
• Kopri Promotions
• Leaders’ Corner Coffee & Tea
• McClendon Counseling and Consulting LLC
• Moore Brothers Automotive
• Oak House
• Oak Mountain Brewing
• OFC Workscapes
• Plumb-Tech INC
• Plus One Heating & Air
• Premier Family Dentistry
• Save My Cell
• Sawyer Solutions
• Shelby County Physcial Therapy
• Shepherd Electric Company, Inc.
• Siluria Brewing Company
• Slice Pizza & Brew Montevallo
• Smiley Brothers
• Smitherman’s Pharmacy
• Southern Bio
• Steel City Pest Control
• Steven’s Wack-n-Sack Lawn Service
• Tazikis
• Team Lehman
• The Copper Train
• The Dive Bar
• The Farm
• Units of Birmingham
• Van Gogh Window Fashions
• Vinehouse Nursey
• W&S Cleaners
• Wishes Travel

The winners of the small business of the year awards were broken down into five categories, four of which were separated by the number of employees held by the companies.

• Winner of Category One which consisted of five or less employees was Creations Galore & Moore
• Winner of Category Two, which consisted of six to 10 Employees was Alabama Custom Trailer and RV, LLC
• Winner of Category Three which consisted of 11-20 employees was Vinehouse Nursery, LLC
• Winner of Category Four which consisted of 21 or more employees was CDI Janitorial Services
• Winner of Category Five, which was for a New Business in the county was McClendon Counseling & Consulting, LLC

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