WASHINGTON – Today, as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrates their 52nd Annual National Small Business Week, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and U.S. Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.) congratulated Michael Smulders, President and CEO of East Hartford’s Bakery on Main, for being recognized by the SBA as a 2015 Small Business Person of the Year. The legislators also commended ten other Connecticut small businesses for being recognized by the SBA.

The SBA selected Michael Smulders as Connecticut’s Small Business Person of the Year for his outstanding contributions to the state. Michael has expanded job opportunities for many of Connecticut’s residents, and has successfully developed an growing business that produces innovative, affordable, and in-demand products. In 1992, Smulders founded the small, family-owned natural foods market, Bakery on Main, out of Glastonbury. Today, the Bakery on Main operates out of a much larger facility in East Hartford where, in small batches, Smulders and his team manufacture gluten-free, non-GMO, natural products such as instant oatmeal, granola, and granola bars. Over the next three years, Smulders plans to grow the business and hire an additional 127 employees. Smulders even works closely with the East Hartford Chamber of Commerce and Goodwin College to help aspiring manufacturing technicians receive their certification; seven technicians who completed their certification through this program are now employed by Smulders at the Bakery on Main.

The ten additional Connecticut companies that have received recognition from the SBA this year are as follows: Chapco Inc. as Exporter of the Year; Kim Wawrzynowicz of Premier Business Services as Financial Champion; Turbine Technologies, Inc. as Veteran-Owned Business of the Year; Great Strides, LLC as Home-Based Business; Bikram Yoga as Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Perk on Main, LLC as Woman Owned Business of the Year; Fascia’s Chocolates as the Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year; Delfau Tax & Financial Services as the Connecticut Micro-Enterprise; The SEED Center for Entrepreneurial Success; and Howard K Hill Funeral Services as Minority Small Business.

“These Connecticut businesses have demonstrated true leadership when it comes to entrepreneurship and business development,” said Blumenthal, Murphy and Larson. “Small businesses are the bedrock of our local economies and communities, and Michael Smulders, in particular, represents the best of the best. He has consistently provided the highest quality products and services to his customers, and the extraordinary dedication he commits to his staff is setting our residents and our state up for success. Congratulations to all!”

For the past 52 years, the SBA has highlighted the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from across the country through National Small Business Week. This year, winners from the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be recognized during events in Miami, Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York City, Washington, D.C., and throughout SBA’s 10 Regions and 68 Districts. The theme of this year’s National Small Business Week is “SBA: Dream Big, Start Small.”