Rep. Sewell honors award-winning small businesses

During National Small Business Week, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, spoke on the House Floor to honor two award-winning small businesses in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.

Rep. Sewell recognized Ms. Jackie Smith, owner and operator of the Coffee Shoppe and Reflections in Selma, for being named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 2024 Phoenix Award Winner for Outstanding Disaster Recovery Efforts.

Sewell also recognized Shanna Ullmann, Timothy Ullmann, and Robert Prescott of Transformation Partners, LLC in Tuscaloosa for being named SBA’s 2024 Small Business Persons of the Year for Alabama.

Sewell’s statement is below.

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the award-winning small business owners in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District as we celebrate this week, National Small Business Week. 

“Ms. Jackie Smith is the proud owner and operator of the Coffee Shoppe and Reflections in our hometown of Selma, Alabama. After leaving her job in 2011, Jackie bravely took on the risk of opening up her own small business, turning the site that once was a segregated diner into a beautiful coffee shop in the heart of downtown Selma. For 13 years, the Coffee Shoppe has provided a place for community to come together, learn about Selma’s history, and eat some great food.

“Like any business owner, Jackie has had her fair share of hardships. After the tornado of January 12, 2023, we saw her resilience, and thanks to an investment by the SBA, she was able to open her doors and continue the Coffee Shoppe’s great legacy. And in fact, she opened up another business, Reflections. 

“This week, Jackie’s extraordinary entrepreneurship earned her national recognition as the Small Business Administration’s 2024 Phoenix Award Winner for Outstanding Disaster Recovery Efforts. We congratulate her on her outstanding achievements. 

“Today, we also recognize SBA’s 2024 Small Business Persons of the Year in Alabama, and that was Shanna Ullmann, Timothy Ullmann, and Robert Prescott of Transformation Partners, LLC in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

“Beginning in the year 2000 as a statewide training provider, her firm has grown tremendously over the past two decades. Today, they serve numerous clients in the field of higher education, government, military, corporate America, offering consulting services and employee development programming. 

“Transformation Partners was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. But once again, thanks to the assistance of the SBA, the firm remained operational and weathered the storm. Now their efforts have earned them national recognition as SBA’s 2024 National Small Business Persons of the Year for Alabama. 

“I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the outstanding entrepreneurship in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. Congratulations to all of our winners. We wish you much success in the years ahead.”