Rachel Owens, owner of Irvine-based R. Owens Insurance Services, was named the Small Business Administration’s women in business advocate of the year for the Western region, the first OC winner of the regional award since 1996.
Local SBA director Sandy Sutton said Owens was selected for her “outstanding advocacy efforts on behalf of women business owners and family-owned enterprises.”
The award is based on an individual’s efforts to increase business and financial opportunities for women; legal, financial or managerial assistance provided to enhance women’s business ownership; and other advocacy efforts that demonstrably improve the environment for the expansion of women-owned businesses.
The Western region includes six SBA districts in California and one each in Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam.
A founding member of the OC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Owens was also instrumental in creating the Family Business Council in partnership with California State University, Fullerton’s School of Business in 1994.
Owens has also been a part of NAWBO’s board since its inception in 1991, working to increase business and financial opportunities for women.
R. Owens Insurance Services was begun in 1997. Previously, Owens was a certified family business specialist with MassMutual. She is one of only a handful of certified family business insurance specialists in the nation.
Another OC businessman, David Cohen, CEO of Edgewide Media Services, Anaheim, was named national young entrepreneur of the year by the SBA. Cohen, 29, began his company in 1993. The processor and supplier of recycled broadcast videotapes has 61 employees and was recently recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in America.
Cohen will be recognized in Washington, D.C., during next week’s Small Business Week ceremonies.
A third OC businessperson, David Cline, president of Balboa Instruments Inc. in Costa Mesa, was named California’s small business person of the year by the SBA. Cline, whose company was formed in 1979 and now has more than 50% of the portable spa market, is among 53 top small-business persons to be recognized in Washington next week.
The 275-employee Balboa Instruments has about $38 million in annual revenue.
The Santa Ana office of the U.S. Small Business Administration will host these and other honorees at an awards luncheon this Thursday at the Sequoia Conference Center in Buena Park.
Other OC small business owners slated to receive awards are:
n Norma Leivan, Independent Contractors Enterprises Inc., Huntington Beach, regional subcontractor of the year;
n Michael Owen, CDC Small Business Development Corp. of Riverside and Orange counties, financial services advocate of the year;
n Barbara Taylor, Boeing, Seal Beach, minority advocate of the year;
n Maria de Lourdes Sobrino, Lulu’s Desserts, Huntington Beach, outstanding entrepreneurial efforts; and
n David Lieberman, American Training Resources, Santa Ana, outstanding entrepreneurial efforts.
