Las Vegas Sun

December 1, 2009

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Small businesses are SBA’s big winners

Tuesday, March 27, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

The owner of the Las Vegas-area floral business Flowers2u.com was named Nevada's small business person of the year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA said Julia Valdes, 60, is a Mexican immigrant who was told by management in a major casino she didn't have the skills needed to work in the floral department and was let go.

Valdes converted her garage into a floral design studio and five years later serves such corporate clients as Caesars Palace, the Venetian, Hyatt Regency at Lake Las Vegas and Giorgio Armani.

Other winners are Paula Yakubik of MassMedia, young entrepreneur of the year; Stephen Schmidt of Le Fiell Co., small business exporter of the year; Michael Rainey, dean of the Outreach College at Truckee Meadows Community College, minority small business advocate of the year; Doresa Banning of the Reno Gazette-Journal, small business journalist of the year; and Kay Collis of Mary Kay Cosmetics, home-based business advocate of the year.

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