Top business people honored

June 2009 - The following are the winners of the 2009 Stockton Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards. These individuals and their companies represent some of the best that the Stockton area business community has to offer.

These businesspeople will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards Luncheon on June 4 at the Hilton Stockton.

Business Person of the Year

Paul J. Umdenstock

Big Valley Ford Lincoln Mercury

Paul Umdenstock opened Big Valley Ford in May 1982 in downtown Stockton on Miner Avenue. Paul continued to build his business relationships and was quickly respected for his business sense and quick humor. He has helped his community in a number of ways over the years but two of the most memorable are helping form and build the Stockton Auto Center and getting the San Francisco 49ers to move their training camp to the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Paul has purchased and sold a number of vehicle franchises over the last twentyseven years but his passion is the Ford Lincoln Mercury Franchise. His years as a dealer have always included the Ford Franchise. He has passed this passion on to his employees at Big Valley Ford Lincoln Mercury. It shows in the 37 employees who have worked for him more than ten years and amongst those are 10 employees that have been there more than twenty years each.

Business Manager of the Year

Armando Salgado

Sims Metal Management

Armando Salgado has been with Sims Metal Management for the past 36 years, where he has been a manager for the past 12 years. During his career at Sims Metal Management Armando has continuously responded to adversity, resolved issues and contributed to our community. He has developed a mechanism to address the metal theft issue that is surrounding this industry, makes sure the yard is kept very clean and environmentally friendly. He has also been instrumental in the Safety Program and improving operations on the yard. His community outreach includes the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, San Joaquin Farm Bureau, St. Mary’s Interfaith and the Stockton Police Against Metal Theft.

P³Stewardship Award

Sara Lee Bakery

Sara Lee Bakery has been in business since 1978. Throughout those 31 years they have created many ways to help the environment. Some of the things they have changed in the company to help the environment are; water consumption reduction, waste to landfill reduction, recycling, air emissions reduction, transportation trip management, and energy conservation. Sara Lee Bakery has partnered up with recycling companies to recycle not only aluminum but also cardboard, ingredient bags, plastic bags, paper, and much more. They have placed recycling bins around their facility so that nothing goes to waste. In order to conserve energy they have installed motion activation lighting. They have also reduced compressed air demand by installing switches to allow air to be on only when needed, along with installing solenoid valves on machines where air stayed on when not needed.

P³Stewardship Award

Surtec, Inc.

Since 1975, Surtec has developed and manufactured janitorial and industrial chemicals, maintenance equipment and unique maintenance programs. Surtec’s mission is to develop and produce the highest quality products for the cleaning and coating of all types of surfaces with emphasis on GREEN systems, safety, appearance and protection.

These products are manufactured in Surtec’s state-of-the-art GREEN manufacturing facility where their graduate chemists design Surtec Certified GREEN Products with the U.S. EPA’s Environmentally Preferred Purchasing (EPP) principles in mind and meet or exceed current certification criteria as environmentally safe GREEN products, as well as the environmental and performance requirements of “GREEN SEAL” and the EPA’s “Designed for the Environment.”

Surtec Certified GREEN Products and Programs are currently in use at Stockton City Hall and many other buildings in the Stockton area and they recently turned the City of Tracy’s cleaning program Green. PG&E recently selected and awarded their “Climate Smart Award” to Surtec, Inc. as the first company in south San Joaquin County to achieve carbon neutral status. Surtec was also the first recipient of the “Easy Being Green” Award, selected by the Stockton Thunder Hockey Organization in conjunction with the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce’s Green Team San Joaquin.

U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Minority Business Champion

Mark Martinez

Mark Martinez, CEO, San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is being recognized by the Sacramento District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, as SBA’s Minority Business Champion. Mark was responsible for building the Chamber from a volunteer base to having a paid professional staff, thus allowing the Chamber to provide a variety of services to its members and the community at large. Under Mark’s leadership, the Chamber developed a strong business education component including annual business conferences focusing on financing, marketing, and government contracting, along with individual workshops planned to help participants build and operate strong businesses. As a result, monthly workshops are offered in Spanish and English at the Chamber, co-sponsored by the San Joaquin Delta College Small Business Development Center (SBDC). These workshops draw participants from a four-county region, although the Chamber primarily focuses on San Joaquin County. This evidences Mark’s commitment to serving the community, regardless of Chamber membership. Additionally, Mark negotiated offering a series of workshops, again in co-sponsorship with the SBDC, to be offered in Spanish to a Spanish speaking business group.