Merritt named Small Business Person of the Year

A.P. MERRITT A.P. Merritt, owner of Merritt Tool was recently recognized as the Small Business Person of the Year for the Small Business Administration (SBA), Dallas / Ft. Worth (DFW) district, which covers 72 counties of north Texas.

Next week Herbert Austin, director for the U. S. SBA , DFW district office, will make his first official visit to East Texas to visit A. P. Merritt, of Merritt Tool.

Each year for the past 45 years the President has issued a proclamation setting aside a week for National Small Business Week recognizing the nation's small businesses and the contributions they make to the economy. SBA district offices throughout the country receive nominations recognizing small business owners and advocates for small business.

This year, A. P. Merritt, of Merritt Tool, was nominated by Kilgore College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) under the direction of Brad Bunt, SBDC director, then selected as the 2008 Small Business Person of the Year for the SBA DFW district.

On May 16, Austin and SBA Regional Administrator for Region VII, , will visit Merritt Tool in Kilgore with other officials to recognize A. P. Merritt for his contributions to the U. S. economy and the small business community of east Texas.

"I am very excited about visiting with Mr. Merritt and meeting with his staff, the other partners and public officials that will be present," said Herbert Austin.

Others slated for attendance are: Louie Gohmert, U. S. Congressman; Tommy Merritt, State Representative; Joe Parker, Kilgore Mayor; Randy Renshaw, Harvey McClendon, Janice Hancock, and Ronnie Spradlin, Kilgore City Council members; Jeff Howell, Kilgore city manager; Bill Stoudt, Gregg County judge; Charles Davis, Darryl Primo, Bob Barbee and John Mathis, Gregg County commissioners; Mike Coston, president Kilgore Chamber of Commerce; Brian Bittick, Patty Ford, Mike Wilcox, Roger Nunnally, Kenneth Plunk, chamber board Members; Kilgore Economic Development Corporation board members, Kilgore College and Kilgore SBDC officials.

"A.P. Merritt is a prime example of the excellent small business entrepreneur. His support from the Kilgore College SBDC and Director, Brad Bunt, provide a great model of best practices where SBA supports growing small businesses. Kilgore College is proud to be associated both with Merritt Tool and the SBA," Bill Holda, Kilgore College president, said.

The events is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 16 at Merritt Tool.