And The Winner Is.......

Susan Solovic, CEO of itsyourbiz.com

With so much doom and gloom in the press these days, it's great to have a fun story to share. What could be more exciting than giving away a $100,000 business makeover package to a small business owner? That's exactly what I got to do this week in Washington DC at the NFIB 2008 Small Business Summit: Stronger Together.

Before a packed audience on Tuesday morning, Catherine Corley, VP Marketing Insights Sam's Club, Todd Stottlemyer, president and CEO NFIB and I walked onto the stage and into the spotlight to announce the winner of the $100,000 Business Makeover Contest our three organizations sponsored in April.

And the winner is…………(drum roll)

Wayne McIntyre, owner of McIntyre Plumbing in Tyler, Texas. McIntyre started his plumbing business in 1985, and it employs 18 people including his wife and two grown sons.

Wayne and his wife Ginger joined us on stage to be recognized and to accept a check from Sam's Club for $25,000 in cash. Of course we had to have one of those huge, blown up checks for the photo opportunity, but I assure you Wayne got the real thing. In addition to the money, Wayne will receive merchandise, supplies and equipment from Sam's Club, a year of mentoring from SBTV.com experts and a lifetime membership to the NFIB. (pictured below: Todd Stottlemyer, Susan Wilson Solovic, Wayne McIntrye, Ginger McIntrye and Catherine Corley)

"We still can't believe we won the contest. This is a huge opportunity for my business and family. Times are tough in Tyler, Texas right now, and I intend to share what I learn with other businesses and community leaders," Wayne said. He also told us he's going to make sure every business in Tyler enters the contest next year.

SBTV.com is going to produce podcasts throughout the year featuring Wayne and his expert mentors. Our goal is to help other small businesses learn from some of the advice and resources the mentors share with Wayne. I truly enjoyed meeting Wayne and Ginger. They are wonderful people and it's going to be fun working with them during the coming months.

I mentioned earlier, the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt was packed for the announcement of our business makeover winner. While I wish I could say everyone showed up just for us, I'm afraid the truth is we were only the warm-up act for the presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee, Senator John McCain. McCain was introduced by eBay's CEO, Meg Whitman. eBay joined NFIB in hosting this year's summit.

Watch for coverage about the summit coming soon on NFIB's dedicated landing page on SBTV.com.