News
Camarillo, California – On August 19, 2016, Saalex President/CEO, Mr. Travis Mack keynoted at the Pacific Coast Business Times (PCBT) Spirit of Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, California. The PCBT and the Los Angeles District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) created the Spirit of Small Business to recognize the accomplishments of small businesses. Click here for more photos of the event.
The Spirit of Small Business honored businesses with fewer than 100 employees in the following categories: East Ventura County, West Ventura County, South Santa Barbara County, North Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, Woman-Owned Business, Minority-Owned Business, Family-Owned Business and Exporter of the Year. Eight winners were announced for this year. They were:
VENTURA COUNTY | Beacon Coffee Company: John and Jennifer Wheir, Owners
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY | Summerland Winery: Nebil “Bilo” Zarif, Owner
CENTRAL COAST | Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.: Jaime and Jim Dietenhofer
FAMILY-OWNED | Santa Paula Materials: Mile and Roko Grbic, Owners
MINORITY-OWNED | Lead Builders: Ron Galvariz, Founder
GREEN BUSINESS | Brighten Solar: Marine Schumann, Jeremy Favier and Gautier Meyers, Co-founders
VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS | CJSeto Support Services: Chet Seto, CEO
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS | BōKu International: Lynn Rollé, Owner
We were also joined by Mr. Victor Parker of the SBA Los Angeles District Office, Congresswoman Lois Capps, Heritage Oaks Bank, Mr. Ray Bowman from the Ventura County EDCVC, Wells Fargo, and many of the event sponsors.
During Mr. Mack’s keynote speech, he shared his small business experience that was unbeknownst to nearly all of Saalex employees today. Saalex Solutions, Inc. started its humble beginnings as an IT startup company in a studio apartment. Once, while undergoing small business struggles, Mr. Mack was 60 days away from giving up on the company. Through perseverance and familiarizing himself with all the SBA had to offer, Mr. Mack led Saalex to become a recognized Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned, Small Business in Ventura County today. We hope that Saalex’s success story has motivated other small business owners to triumph over the many bad days.
We like to extend our congratulations to all Spirit of Small Business Award winners. In addition, we would like to thank Mr. Henry Dubroff of PCBT and Mr. Victor Parker of the SBA Los Angeles District Office for giving Mr. Mack this amazing opportunity. We love to help because small business matters! Please do not hesitate to contact us at slxbd@saalex.com for future Small Business events and your Small Business needs.
Saalex Solutions, Inc. is an Engineering and Information Technology Services company with a focus on, Test Range Operations and Maintenance, Integrated Logistics Support, Engineering Support and Information Technology Services. Founded in 1999 by Travis Mack, Saalex Solutions is a Small Disadvantaged, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned and Operated business headquartered in Camarillo, California.
