Three newcomers and one repeat customer were named winners at the Fort Worth Chamber's 2002 Small Business of the Year Awards held at TCU's Dee Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center in November. This was the fourth year the awards have been held and this year they were sponsored by KBK Financial; Citizens National Bank; Neoris; Law, Snakard & Gambill PC; The Neeley School of Business/James A. Ryffel Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at TCU; Fort Worth Business Press and Higginbotham & Associates.

This year's winners were Teresa's Treasures - up $250,000 in annual revenue; PML Permite Corporation - $250,000-$1 million; TriQuest Technologies, Inc. - $1 million-$5 million; and Optima Homes - $5 million-$20 million. As last year, the Small Business of the Year Awards were the result of a collaboration between the Chamber and the James A. Ryffel Center for Entrepreneurial Studies which allowed TCU Business majors to participate in the evaluations and judging of the entrants. Emcee for the event was David Minor, William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence and Director of the Ryffel Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Keynote speaker for the luncheon, attended by approximately 200 guests including past Small Business Award winners, was Ross Perot, Jr, president and CEO of Perot Systems, a worldwide provider of information technology services and business solutions.

Perot addressed many of the issues facing business today, including the slumping economy and the possibility of war with Iraq. Perot noted that Texas is well-positioned to lead an economic comeback when financial conditions improve.
"It's a great time to start a new business," said Perot. "Small business is the foundation of every community."

In the up to $250,000 category, the Small Business of the Year Award went to Teresa Nelson, owner and CEO of Teresa's Treasures, a full-service corporate gift business offering gourmet gift baskets, centerpieces, hotel amenities, sales team gifts, party favors and more.

Opened in January 2000 as a home based business, Teresa's Treasures has grown from a 600-square-foot home addition to a 2,000-square-foot facility. Currently, the business is expanding again into even larger quarters. Last year, the company added a web site which paid for itself in its first two weeks of operation. In less than three years, Teresa's Treasures has grown from a one-person shop to an international business with 10 full and part-time employees.
Samuel R. Emmerson, president of PML Permite Corporation, accepted the Small Business of the Year Award for revenue of $250,000 to $1 million on behalf of his company. PML Permite manufactures cleaning products for the automotive, janitorial and manufacturing industries.

In addition to a full product line, the company offers safety-training classes to customers nationwide. Emmerson purchased the business in 1992 after having worked there as a sales associate for six years. According to Emmerson, part of the company's success is based on the high level of employee appreciation. New employees and their families are invited to dinner to build a positive relationship. Each employee has a free lunch each day. In the summer, employees get a paid afternoon off each month to spend with their families and to sporting events, restaurant gift certificates as well as tickets to the Texas State Fair, spending money and time off with pay to attend.

TriQuest Technologies is a Fort Worth based Microsoft Certified Partner offering network management services to companies with 25 to 150 computers. TriQuest offers a tailored service agreement which allows clients to obtain the exact level and mix of services they require. TriQuest can function as the entire information technology department or supplement in-house skills. In 2001, when many of their competitors had to close their doors, TriQuest met its minimum growth goal of 60 percent and celebrated Christmas in Las Vegas with its employees and their spouses.
In the $5 million to $20 million category, the winner of the Small Business of the Year Award was Optima Homes. President Joey Goss accepted the award and recognized the efforts of his employees for helping the company win the award.

The Optima Homes philosophy is: "We are building our business one customer at a time. What we physically do is easy to define - we build quality homes primarily for first- and second-time buyers." But, according to Goss, the vision is greater. "The spirit of who we are and what we do is captured in our promise to our customers: We make creating, buying and building your new home simple. At Optima, we build your home the way you want, build it right, finish on time and provide service long after the sale. Because we listen to our customers and then deliver what we promise, Optima is the homebuilder buyers trust before, during and after the sale." The Optima slogan is "We make it simple. You make it home."
The Fort Worth Chamber's Small Business of the Year Awards recognize and honor businesses that have demonstrated "best practices" of entrepreneurship such as sound business planning, fiscal responsibility and work process innovation in operation.