Celebrate Small Business Week May 1-6 Published April 24, 2017 By Reggie Selby, Small Business Programs director 21st Force Support Squadron PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Small Business Professionals from Peterson Air Force Base, the United States Air Force Academy and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, recently teamed up with Army Space Command and the Colorado Small Business Development Center to recognize the veteran-owned small businesses making a significant impact on local installations. The impact of our nation’s small businesses is often overlooked, and the role small businesses play in supporting our local installations really go unnoticed. It is important to recognize a certain category of small businesses that support our local installations. These veteran-owned small businesses are owned and operated by veterans who have a passion for supporting the military mission. They most often provide contract support relevant to mission areas in which they served. This is tremendously beneficial because we are hiring companies that are intimately familiar with our work and have even performed the work while in uniform. For example, a medical business owned and operated by Margot Langstaff, an U.S. Army veteran, registered nurse, and MBA graduate of Harvard whose company provides medical staffing to the 21st Medical Group. A construction company owned by Mike Yaggi, who served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, is now providing construction services building the new Eisenhower Golf Course Clubhouse on the U.S. Air Force Academy. Then, there is Ryan Tittsworth who served as an electrician in the U.S. Army. Before separating he attended college and started his own construction company and is now supporting missions at Schriever AFB. We also recognized a business that provided installation, repair and services on the climate system that supports the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s Space and Joint Friendly Force Tracking Mission Management Center. The company is owned and operated by Joe Zuffoletto, another U.S. Army Veteran. These are but a handful of small businesses providing five-star support to our military installations that we had the distinct privilege to recognize. Our nation’s small businesses impact our economic growth and prosperity and need to be recognized. This is why every year since 1963 the U.S. president issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week the first week of May. The week recognizes contributions of our nation’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. According to the Small Business Administration, these businesses represent 99.7 percent of U.S employer firms. They create two of every three new jobs and over half of America’s workers either own, or work for, small businesses. For those who have that entrepreneurial spark, visit this link https://www.sba.gov/ to find out more about starting a small business.Visit this link https://www.sba.gov/nsbw/nsbw for events associated with the 2017 National Small Business week.