Small Business Award Recipients Governor George E. Pataki today announced the winners of the 1998 Governor's Small Business Awards at New York State's Fourth Annual Small Business Conference and Luncheon at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Each one of our winners is a symbol of the spirit and optimism that makes this the Empire State. Their colleagues and their communities should be proud of them.
Small business is the foundation upon which New York's economy is built.
Peggy Piontkowski, founder and CEO of North Syracuse's Sassy Scrubs, a manufacturer of scrub wear for doctors and nurses, was selected as the 1998 Small Business Person of the Year. Small businesses those employing 100 or fewer workers account for about 498,000, or just over 98 percent, of all the businesses in New York State and employ more than 3.5 million New Yorkers, more than half of the state's private-sector work force. The award recipients for 1998 were selected based on nominations by the New York State Small Business Advisory Board. The Small Business Awards program is part of the annual Governor's Small Business Conference. The new format of this year's Conference features educational sessions on issues faced by small businesses such as exporting, energy deregulation, Year 2000 compliance and new media growth.