The Gwinnett Chamber hosted the annual Small Business Awards on December 9th at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville. The program, presented by Atlanta Small Business Network, named ten winners among the best in the region for exceptional business practices and entrepreneurial excellence.“99% of all businesses in Georgia are small businesses, making this industry a critical component to the future of our economic health and well-being,” said Nick Masino, President & CEO, Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett. “We are honored to champion these amazing individuals and organizations through this program and want to congratulate the nominees, finalists, and winners on their incredible success this year.”Rikki Klaus, producer for CNN, emceed the awards program, calling out each of the ten winners by name and category to come to the stage and receive their award. Category winners included:Community Contributor Award – Annandale VillageCulture Creator Award – Virguez LawEmerging Entrepreneur Award – Elizabeth M’balu Oke – PivotPathFounder Award – Grace Fricks – Access to Capital for EntrepreneursLaunch Award – Byron HospitalityMinority-Owned/Woman-Owned Business Award – 32 Pearls Family DentistrySmall Business (0-5 Employees) Award – Cartridge World (Lawrenceville)Small Business (6-24 Employees) Award – El-Amin Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine InstituteSmall Business (25+ Employees) Award – Capital RestorationSupport System Award – Atlanta Chinese Entrepreneurs ClubThe program also hosted featured speaker Terri-Nichelle Bradley, Founder & CEO of Brown Toy Box, who sat down with Jim Fitzpatrick, President & CEO of Atlanta Small Business Network, to share her journey of success from start-up to one of Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2022.This awards program comes on the heels of Gwinnett’s recent announcement on being named a five-star accredited Chamber through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where it credited its members and investors, many of whom were present for today’s program, for their commitment and contributions that helped earn this designation for the non-profit organization. For more information on the Gwinnett Chamber and future events and programs, please visit GwinnettChamber.org/events.About the Gwinnett ChamberThe Gwinnett Chamber serves as the voice for businesses, facilitating quality job growth opportunities while enhancing the community’s vitality and quality of life. The Chamber offers the metro Atlanta business community a wealth of growth opportunity by collaborating with regional partners to drive economic and community development initiatives throughout Georgia. Through its fundamental objectives to help create quality jobs and wealth, strengthen the community, and grow business, the Chamber serves more than 2,000+ member companies in metro Atlanta while delivering innovative programs to connect businesses locally, regionally, and globally. www.gwinnettchamber.org.