Congratulations to the Loudoun Chamber Small Biz Award winners
Congratulations to the recent winners of the 2011 Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards!
President and CEO Kristina Bouweiri was on hand to support friends and nominees, including co-host Carolyn Howell of Golf Center & Sports Park; Service Business of the Year nominee Tina Johnson of JP Events & Consulting; Retailer of the Year nominee Heidi Kallett of The Dandelion Patch and Entrepreneur of the Year nominees Pat Wirth of Potomac Falls Express Lube & Car Wash and Maria Kopsidas of Cookology.
Before the nominees were announced, attendees enjoyed a wonderfully funny video featuring Chris Charron of Charron Consulting as he interviewed potential executives for the position of co-host for the gala event. The eventual winner of course was Carolyn Howell, but Kristina Bouweiri got a cameo appearance as the first interviewee. She was followed by Telos CEO John Wood, whose musical performance was applauded by the audience.
The winners are:
- Franchisee of the Year: Comfort Suites Leesburg
- Home-Based Business of the Year: WD Designs
- Nonprofit Organization of the Year: Waterford Foundation
- Retailer of the Year: J & L Interiors
- Service Business of the Year: Modern Mechanical
- Technology Busines of the Year: Semper Technology
- Rural Business of the Year: Catoctin Creek Distillery
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Scott Harris of Catoctin Creek Distillery
- Small Business of the Year: Coveros
Catching up with Kristina B.
At what stage in your company’s growth should you bring in a General Manager? Reston Limousine President and CEO Kristina Bouweiri discusses this important small business topic Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 19th) on Small Business Trends Radio.
Log onto www.blogtalkradio.com/smallbiztrends at 1:30 p.m. EST and catch the live half-hour program online. If you’d like to ask a question, the call-in number is (646) 716-8886.
Small Business Trends Radio is a half hour-long program featuring interviews and open discussions with today’s small business experts on a variety of topics. Guests include a mix of influential individuals who speak on issues of the day important to the small business market; and business owners who speak from a “been there, done that” point of view, offering insider tips and advice.
Here’s Small Business Trends Radio’s promotion of the program:
The birth of Kristina’s twins forced her to stop micromanaging and she hired some good people for key positions – and her company doubled in size in one year! Kristina Bouweiri, President & CEO of Reston Limousine and Travel Service, Inc., started her business with five cars and has over 150 cars today. Originally a micromanager, Kristina always benefited when she added another team member to the payroll. At the time she did not think she could afford another salary but she learned that hiring the right people with the right skills could do a better job then she could. Today Reston Limousine and Travel Service is the 17th largest limousine/bus company in the United States with 300 employees and two locations outside of Washington DC.
The week after, Kristina will be in Las Vegas as a panelist on the 5th Annual National Limousine Association Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum at the 2010 International LCT (Limousine, Charter & Tour) Show. Designed especially to encourage as many one-on-one introductions as time permits, the forum will offer networking and educational opportunities with experienced women veterans of the industry.
Kristina also will be on a Sales & Marketing panel presented by Sara Eastwood-McLean of LCT Magazine. Forget the Box! It’s Out-of-the-Box Growth Strategies That Count Now will offer a step-by-step plan for transforming your premium service-based company to a total transportation provider. Straight from the publisher of LCT Magazine, you’ll learn what’s involved to reposition and transition your company during this paradigm shift, how to sell to the evolving trends, and how to capture the momentum of the 21st century’s second decade of changing demographics.
Other Reston Limousine staff who will be attending the LCT show to expand the company’s affiliate network will be Tony Simon (General Manager), Christina Diederich (Sales Representative) and Alyssa Travers (Marketing Director).
The 2010 International LCT Show will be taking place Jan. 25-27 at the Venetian & Palazzo Resort Hotel Casinos.
