Metro Chamber names ’05 Small Business Award recipients 
Hard-working and innovative Sacramento small businesses and their advocates were spotlighted by the Sacramento Metro Chamber at the Small Business Awards, handed out Wednesday, May 18, during Business EXPO 2005, held at the Sacramento Convention Center.
   The Metro Chamber’s Small Business Awards recognize individuals and businesses who are at the forefront of running small businesses or delivering services to them. Qualifying small businesses are considered as ones with 20 employees or fewer.
   Six awards were made by the chamber’s Small Business Advisory Committee, which considered nominations numbering 63 companies and individuals.
   “Overall criteria used to judge nominees included the record of job creation or business expansion, use of small business resources to improve operations, community involvement, business reputation, uniqueness of business model and challenges or hurdles overcome in growing the business,” said Sam Driggers, Metro Chamber director of business andeconomic development.
   Business EXPO 2005, presented by Bank of America, is an annual trade show produced by the Metro Chamber and the City of Sacramento Office of Small Business Development. The awards were hosted by NewsTalk 1530 KFBK morning talk show host Kelly Brothers and include:

Entrepreneurial Success Award—Joseph Zeleny, SIA Professional Services
   Joseph Zeleny started his marketing career at the age of 12 in his mother’s antique store and earned a graduate degree in marketing from California State University, Sacramento. Zeleny founded SIA Professional Services in 1996, initially to help employers find potential applicants. But SIA evolved to meet customers’ needs and developed into a business concierge service, offering numerous products and services ranging from full-color printing and promotional items to Web design and marketing.
   Zeleny decided offering several key business services at a smaller profit margin made better sense than a single-source company that requiredall profits to be made off a limited number of products and services. He attributes his growing success to a staff that understands his vision: innovate to make the company better and treat customers like house guests. He volunteers at Loaves and Fishes and The Boys and Girls Club and supports
   HOPE and other free children’s clinics worldwide. SIA Professional Services is located at 3050 Fite Circle, No. 108, Sacramento; telephone 916-361-0792.

Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year—Gil Gurmukh, The Ultimate Back Store
   Gil Gurmukh embodies the American dream. He was born in India and came from a family of farmers. After receiving bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and education, he immigrated to the United States with only $20 in his pocket. In 1991, he became an entrepreneur by purchasing a bankrupt Mountain Mike’s Pizza franchise and making it a success, along the way earning a Mountain Mike’s Founder’s Award as well as sales increase and operations awards. He sold the businessin 2004.
   Gurmukh then founded The Ultimate Back Store, which has been serving back pain sufferers for 10 years now. The Ultimate Back Store has the biggest inventory of back care products in the Sacramento area and is known for its low prices, highly trained staff with a can-do attitude and a no-pressure selling style. The same old-fashioned service is given whether customers are buying a pillow or a custom-fitting office chair. Most of their business comes from regular clients and professional referrals. The Ultimate Back Store is located at 1547 Fulton Ave., Sacramento; telephone 482-7529.

Small Business Person of the Year—Suzi Sherman, Arch Technologies
   Suzi Sherman is founder of Arch Technologies in 2002 with Thomas David and Sandy Pratali. The company specifically targets small business and their unique technological needs and budgets. Sherman, a Sacramento native, developed a background in information technology during her employment with The Money Store.
   In 2001, shewent out on her own to consult for large and small businesses in Sacramento before starting Arch Technologies a year later.
   Arch Technologies helps businesses leverage their technology assets without having to invest in an information technology department of their own. Arch Technologies provides services from simple repairs and assessment of a small business’ current technology systems to developing and programming custom web-enabled applications and secure enterprises class network infrastructures. Arch Technologies is located at 6101 15th Ave., Sacramento; telephone 916-457-4897.

Small Business Supporter of the Year—Carol Chamberlain, Prosper magazine
   Carol Chamberlain, editor of Prosper magazine, is responsible for all aspects of editorial content. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and her career has included work in broadcast news stations in the Central Valley, editing newspapers in Bergen County, New Jersey and working for CNN.
   As editor of Prosper, she helps business owners achieve visibility for their companies through the magazine, which was founded on the premise that successful CEOs, middle managers of large and small companies, promising entrepreneurs and ambitious hopefuls of the Sacramento region need to promote their accomplishments, learn from each other and share with the world the dynamics of the budding Sacramento metro marketplace. The mission of Prosper is to provide accurate business information that is pertinent, well-written, graphically pleasing and informational. Prosper magazine is located at 920 20th St. No. 125, Sacramento; telephone 916-233-4462.

Veteran Small Business Advocate of the Year—Michelle Stratton, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
   Michelle Stratton has been the deputy for small business since 2002 in the Sacramento District office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As the small business procurement manager, Stratton has advocated and within the corps has taken the lead for other organizations in helping certified small businesses access government contracting opportunities at federal agencies. The Army Corps of Engineers has a mission to increase the base of small businesses that provide it with products and services as a way to help strengthen the industrial base of the nation. Stratton has 22 years’ experience working for the Department of Defense, beginning with the Air Force at McCellan AFB. Under Stratton’s leadership, the federal government has increased its outreach to small businesses in the six-county region. The Army Corps of Engineers office is located at 1325 J St., Sacramento; telephone is 916-557-7614.

Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year—Patricia Murakami, Ambrosia Fine Food
   Patricia Murakami started Ambrosia Fine Food as a wholesale baking company and developed it into a full- service catering company and then a café. Murakami grew up in a restaurant family serving fine Northern Italian cuisine in New Jersey. She worked as a cook at the four-star restaurant Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley and discovered a love for making desserts. As the former pastry chef for Chinois East/West, she created unique Asian foods and incorporated them into imaginative new desserts. Murakami opened Ambrosia Café in 2004 to rave reviews in The Sacramento Bee and Sacramento Magazine.
   Murakami has received many awards and participated in prestigious culinary events from Paris to Hong Kong and Turkey. Her fine foods have sweetened the palettes from the Sacramento Monarchs to the Kings players as well as former Gov. Gray Davis. She has studied food service management, culinary arts and French culture at American River College, Contra Costa College and Sacramento City College. Ambrosia Café is located at 1030 K St., Sacramento; telephone 916-444-8129.