SB Summit – And the Winner Is…

by Brad Peck

Everyone. Everyone won today at the luncheon honoring the finalists for Small Business of the Year Award.  Brian Cornell, president and CEO of Sam's Club, won in a couple of ways, first he got to tell great stories of small business suppliers who achieved success by working with Sam’s Club – many in the audience were taking notes there – and second because he got to give a fantastic introduction for Vietnam Veteran, four-time Super Bowl winner, and successful entrepreneur Rocky Bleier.

As a Steeler fan and longtime admirer I think I wrote down every word Bleier said, but I don’t want to cover ground already well covered in our Member Magazine, first by our writers, and then by Bleier himself; so I will just hit the highlights.

Bleier acknowledged his football past by contemplating the similarities between football, life and business. In football every year is a new year, what you did in the past doesn’t matter, the slate is clean. Some will do well, and some will fail, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t try. But there is always hope, hope this is the year, but often it isn’t. Bleier put on all four Super Bowl rings, one at a time, it was nice. But he only wears one normally, from the second win against the Cowboys. Why?  Because “it is the biggest and the gaudiest.” Again, nice.

But actually as a reminder of hard work and team work; of individuals coming together in pursuit of a common goal; of commitment and trust – the glue which holds a team together. While there is no ‘I’ in team, there is an ‘M’ and an ‘E’. A team has many ‘ME’s and they all have needs and goals, and they all need to be taken care of.

Collectively we are all in the hope business, we all have a belief system and we all need a support system. As Bleier laid in the hospital, told that wounds he suffered in Vietnam would stop him from playing football again he received a postcard from Steeler president Art Rooney: “Team’s not doing well, we need you.”  The team bought him a year, he got better and made the taxi squad, the next year he made the team but didn’t play, then he got better, and the team got better, and they won. So many turning points.

Ours is a country of opportunity not entitlement. As long as we have choices we are free. With choices come responsibilities, and the choices boil down to just two:  Are you going to do less? Or are you going to do more?

U.S. Chamber Chairman Don Shepard then took the stage with Brian Cornell to recognize seven businesses which chose to do more. The Regional Finalists were introduced with a nice video (links below), and given their awards.

• Great Lakes Region - Abstract Displays, Inc.
• Southwest and South Central Region - Mammen Glass & Mirror
• Western Region - AGM Container Controls, Inc.
• Southeastern Regional Finalist - FACES DaySpa
• Midwest Region - Midland Information Resources
• Northwest Region - Meier Architecture • Engineering
• Eastern Region - Charter School Business Management Inc.

We all won today, but there can be only one, and the Small Business of the Year 2009 Award goes to AGM Container Controls!