America's #1 small business lender pays tribute to women business owners
PHOENIX, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Celebrating the success of women business owners nationwide, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and the National Association of Women Business Owners(R) (NAWBO(R)) will recognize three women-owned businesses with the 7th annual NAWBO/Wells Fargo Trailblazer Award. Each winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and be honored at NAWBO's 2008 Women's Business Conference in Phoenix on Thursday, June 12.
Three winners were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants and evaluated based on their companies' business performance, innovation, growth, and personal service to the community. Joy Ott, regional president for Wells Fargo Bank in Montana and national spokesperson for Women's Business Services, together with NAWBO, will present the Trailblazer awards to: -- Tucson, Ariz.-based Adobe Rose Inn, LLC -- Owner Marion Hook
-- Modesto, Calif.- based IMAGEN, LLC -- President Virginia Arauza-Madueno
-- Seattle, Wash.- based Seattle Chinese Post Inc./Northwest Asian
Weekly -- Publisher & President Assunta Ng
"These winners are a great testament to the talent, passion and strength demonstrated by women business owners nationwide," said Ott. "They are inspirational and personify what it means to be a 'trailblazer' -- both in their businesses and in their communities. We applaud and thank them for their continued innovation and success." Established in 2003 by Marion Hook, Adobe Rose Inn, LLC is a full-service bed and breakfast in Tucson, Arizona. Built in 1933, the inn offers six unique guest rooms and has built a reputation of delivering customized service. To expand and diversify her business, Hook launched the Adobe Rose Inn Buttermilk Scone Mix and plans to offer additional retail products. Striving to be a "green" business, Adobe Rose Inn uses solar tube lighting and a gray water drip irrigation system.
IMAGEN, LLC is a full-service public relations and marketing firm specializing in grassroots outreach, social marketing and media relations. Recognizing a need to better serve the Latino community, owner Virginia Madueno established IMAGEN to help companies more effectively communicate and connect with the Spanish speaking community. IMAGEN also provides resources and education on key social issues including education, ovarian cancer and drug awareness.
Seattle Chinese Post Inc. / Northwest Asian Weekly is the first Chinese language newspaper in the Pacific Northwest. Established in 1982 by Assunta Ng, the Seattle Chinese Post Inc., and its English sister publication, the Northwest Asian Weekly, engages and informs the Asian community. The leading Asian community-based publications in the Northwest, Seattle Chinese Post Inc. and Northwest Asian Weekly also provide summer internship opportunities and scholarship programs, as well as sponsor community events.
"NAWBO is honored, with Wells Fargo, to recognize these outstanding women business owners, as they uphold and embody the spirit of this award," said NAWBO president Cynthia McClain-Hill and managing partner of the Los Angeles-based company Strategic Counsel. "Women-owned businesses continue to prosper across the country and we're excited to celebrate their continued successes." The Trailblazer award is part of Wells Fargo's Women Business Services program. Established in 1995, the program uses outreach and education to help women business owners increase their access to capital and other financial services. The program forms key national and community relationships, conducts primary research, sponsors events, and provides financial information and resources to support the success of women-owned businesses. Since 1995, Wells Fargo has loaned more than $31.5 billion to women business owners nationwide.
About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $595 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the internet (http://wellsfargo.com/) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest possible credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AAA." Wells Fargo is America's #1 small business lender in total dollar volume according to the most recent Community Reinvestment Act data (2006) and the #1 SBA 7a bank lender in total dollar volume. Wells Fargo has loaned close to $36 billion to women, African American, Latino and Asian business owners since 1995. For more information, speak with a Wells Fargo banker, visit http://wellsfargo.com/biz or call the National Business Banking Center at 1-800-CALL-WELLS.
About NAWBO Founded in 1975, NAWBO propels women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide. Thirty years later, NAWBO is still the only organization that solely represents the interest of women entrepreneurs in all industries. The organization's mission is to strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of its members and promote economic development; to create innovative and effective change in the business culture; to build strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations; and to transform public policy and influence opinion makers. Visit http://www.nawbo.org/ for more information. DATASOURCE: Wells Fargo & Company CONTACT: Kathryn Ellis of Wells Fargo & Company, +1-415-846-6183, ; or Shawn Taylor Zelman of NAWBO, +1-703-506-3268, Web site: http://www.wellsfargo.com/ http://www.nawbo.org/
|