AUGUSTA – The Maine District office of the U.S. Small Business Administration has begun its search for successful entrepreneurs who will become Maine’s Small Business Person of the Year for 2008 and will travel to Washington, D.C., next spring to compete for national honors. The awards will be presented at Maine’s annual Small Business Week Awards celebration, held in the spring.

Nominees for this award must meet certain criteria that include sustainable success, gains in employment and sales, innovation, response to adversity, and contributions to the community. Additional nominations for special business awards are sought for small business exporter, young entrepreneur, entrepreneurial success and the Jeffrey H. Butland SBA family-owned small business of the year. These awards provide an opportunity to recognize outstanding entrepreneurs in the community and to say thank-you to a small business person for a job well done.

The Maine District office also seeks nominations for its 2008 champion awards targeting individuals in Maine who have used their professional skills or personal talents to further public understanding and awareness of small business. Categories include minority small business champion, women in business champion, veteran small business champion, financial services champion, home-based business champion and small business journalist.

The nomination form and award criteria may be viewed at www.sba.gov/me. The information will be listed in the “spotlight” section on the Maine SBA homepage. Self-nominations are accepted for these awards.

For more information on the nomination procedure, contact Bonnie Erickson at 622-8275.