{"id":2986,"date":"2022-05-23T11:38:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T11:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/?p=2986"},"modified":"2022-05-23T11:38:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T11:38:10","slug":"sba-officials-visit-eastern-pennsylvanias-2022-woman-owned-small-business-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/sba-officials-visit-eastern-pennsylvanias-2022-woman-owned-small-business-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"SBA Officials visit Eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s 2022 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\nCedarville Engineering Group presented with award May 24 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/a>\n\n\n\n
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\nEastern Pennsylvania District Office<\/p>\n

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\nSBA Officials visit Eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s 2022 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year\n<\/strong><\/h1>\n\"2022
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\nCedarville Engineering Group presented with award May 24<\/h1>\n

\nThe U.S. Small Business Administration\u2019s Eastern Pennsylvania District Office announces Cedarville Engineering Group, LLC (CEG) in Pottstown is the 2022 Eastern Pennsylvania Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. April Barkasi, CEG founder and majority partner,\n will receive the award at a ceremony at the company\u2019s Pottstown location May 24. Media are invited to attend<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nWHEN:   <\/strong>May 24 at 11:00 a.m.<\/p>\n

\nWHERE:<\/strong>159 E. High St., Pottstown<\/p>\n

\nCEG is an engineering technology company specializing in design-build solutions in civil engineering, environmental services, surveying, construction management, and aerial services for federal, state, and local managers. Barkasi started the business in 2010\n as a sole proprietor and now leads a team of more than 35 professionals in two offices (Pottstown and Pensacola, Florida). The business is a federally certified 8(a)Business and Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and is also DBE\/WBE certified.   <\/p>\n

\nBarkasi is a Professional Engineer (P.E.) with primary roles as CEO and Director of Sales and Marketing. In 2017, after a staff member completed SBA\u2019s Emerging Leaders Initiative the prior year, CEG stepped into the federal contracting arena. With the assistance\n of their local Procurement Technical Assistance Center, CEG became certified through the SBA 8(a) program in May 2017 and began focusing on acquiring work from the federal government. Barkasi formed two joint ventures and invested in training for existing\n staff in project management skills while continuing to hire quality professionals. When the pandemic struck, they were able to retain all but one employee with funding from SBA\u2019s COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s a privilege to recognize the achievements of women-owned Pennsylvania small businesses like Cedarville Engineering Group. Financial survival requires perseverance and creativity,\u201d said Steve Dixel, SBA Eastern Pennsylvania District Director. \u201cApril faced\n unique challenges, learned resilience, and forged stronger relationships with clients and partners. Small business owners like April continue to play a central role in building a stronger economy. We are proud the SBA\u2019s federal government contracting programs\n played a key role in helping them succeed.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe SBA has been a key partner and resource for April and the growth of CEG,\u201d said nominator Curt Hatfield, P.E., C.O.O, Cedarville Engineering Group. \u201cThe SBA 8(a) Business Development program has helped us grow service lines and expand our geographic footprint.\n We achieved our highest annual revenue in 2020 and had had 50% growth above that in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nBarkasi says applying the appropriate level of engineering effort and resources to accomplish a task exemplifies efficiency and professionalism in the construction industry, and service can be exceptional when emerging technologies are employed in a highly\n creative fashion. In 2016 Barkasi was the recipient of the Engineering News Record Newsmaker Award for her use of innovative technology for the redevelopment of contaminated public lands. In 2021, she received the Villanova University Professional Achievement\n award for her contributions to technology and entrepreneurship. In addition to acquiring and renovating the building that serves as CEG\u2019s headquarters in Pottstown, Barkasi has invested both time and money in other transformative economic revitalization projects\n in Pottstown.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAny civil engineer can lay a pipe; that\u2019s not a unique skill. But the way we apply technology to improve the client experience and to empower them with knowledge allows us to be different,\u201d said Barkasi. \u201cMy love for humanity and capitalism has fueled a passion\n for redevelopment and workforce development of the economically stressed community and HUBZone that CEG calls home. It is rewarding to be named SBA\u2019s Eastern Pennsylvania Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. I am honored that Curt nominated us and SBA selected\n our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nBarkasi is also president-elect of the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Board of Directors and Small Business Committee of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Military Engineers; and serves on the Board of Directors at Seniors and\n Sprouts, a local organization bringing together senior citizens and youth by using nature and gardening as a conversation starter.<\/p>\n

\nSBA\u2019s Eastern Pennsylvania Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year award winner is selected annually from among nominees located across the 40 counties of eastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\nNational Small Business Week recognizes the small business community\u2019s contribution to the American economy. Learn more about National Small Business Week at\n\nhttps:\/\/www.sba.gov\/national-small-business-week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\nFor interviews with Cedarville Engineering Group or additional information, contact Sonia Smith at\n<\/em><\/strong>sonia.smith@sba.gov<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\nCedarville Engineering Group presented with award May 24 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nEastern Pennsylvania District Office<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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\nSBA Officials visit Eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s 2022 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year
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\"2022\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2986"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2988,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2986\/revisions\/2988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mysetaside.com\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}