Small businesses are hailed as the lifeblood of the U.S. economy; the Small Business Administration notes that they create two-thirds of net new jobs “and drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness.”

On Friday, the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center, the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado and the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC teamed up to honor champions within the local small business community.

Winners of the 11th annual Small Business Week Awards were named at a ceremony Friday afternoon at Weidner Field, kicking off a week of workshops and networking events.

Those winners are:

• Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year: Enrique Camacho, founder of Model Citizen Coffee Co., whose mission is: “Provide freshly roasted coffee to our communities, demonstrate that coffee is an experience — not just a wake-up call, and inspire people to do good.

• Family-owned Small Business

of the Year: Ramon Alvarez, Minuteman Press of Colorado Springs.

Ramon and Alana Alvarez have owned their Minuteman Press franchise in Colorado Springs since August 2019 and increased sales dramatically, according to a write-up on the Minuteman Press website.

Minuteman Press of Colorado Springs is “a full-service design, print and direct mail provider.”

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Madeleine Costa, founder and CEO of Succeeding Small, a digital marketing agency.

• Small Business Champion of the Year: Heather McBroom, founder and CEO of Precision Services.

The company’s mission: “Keeping your business on target” with such services as bookkeeping, marketing and business insurance.

• Small Business Person of the Year: Dr. Kristen Kells of Dr. Kells’ Weight Loss.

“Small businesses have endured a lot during the past few years and have continued to show their innovation and resilience,” Jonathan Liebert, CEO and executive director of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado, said in a news release.

“This week is about celebrating their work and highlighting top performers. It is imperative that we continue to support and encourage small business owners in the Pikes Peak region.”

For more information on the week’s events, go to pikespeaksbdc.org/sbw.