The Kansas Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) announced the 2010 Emerging and Existing Businesses of the Year this week, including T&C MFG & Operating Inc. of Great Bend. T&C MFG & Operating Inc. is owned by Craig Pangburn and Thomas McGlinn, Great Bend,
Each of the eight KSBDC regional centers had the opportunity to select one emerging and one existing business for the award.
In total, 15 Kansas small businesses will be recognized at a ceremony in Topeka on March 15. The businesses were selected from nearly 2,300 entrepreneurs that received KSBDC services in 2010.
“The businesses were selected after careful consideration by our consultants,” said Wally Kearns, KSBDC state director. “During the last year, the overall economic situation has created opportunities and obstacles. The determining factors in selecting the businesses included looking at how the businesses maneuvered through the obstacles and how they shifted priorities or operations to remain profitable.”
During the last two months, business owners participated in video interviews, which will be presented at the awards ceremony. In addition, the award recipients will be presented with a plaque by their state legislators.
The keynote speaker for the event is Dave Dreiling, owner of GTM Sportswear, a Manhattan-based company that he and a partner founded 21 years ago after he graduated from Kansas State University with a B.S. degree in business administration. GTM sells customized imprinted sportswear to athletic teams, booster clubs, corporations, resorts, outdoor enthusiasts, cheer and gymnastic squads, and other related markets throughout the United States and abroad.
In 2007, Dreiling was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Central Midwest Region, and GTM was placed on the Inaugural Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately owned companies. He was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Small Businesses Administration for the state of Kansas in 1992. In 1994, he was named a finalist for Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the states of Kansas and Missouri. Recently, The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce awarded Dreiling the Lud Fiser Citizen of the Year Award for 2009 for his outstanding and repeated contributions to the community.
The public is welcome to attend this event. In addition, the public can view event details at http://www.kansas.gov/ksbdc.