McAllen Chamber Hosted Top Five Small Business Awards Lunchon By Adan Coronado Jr. On Wednesday, October 27, 2004 the McAllen Chamber of Commerce hosted the Fifth Annual Top Five Small Business Awards Luncheon. The Top Five Small Business Awards Committee recognized this year’s awards recipients. The ceremony is organized by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce in an effort to recognize the local businesses and the outstanding jobs they have done throughout the last three years. This years top five small businesses are Aptus Therapy Services, Charles Clark Chevrolet, Domit Construction & Development, LLC, Humanetics and Valley Garden Center. Luis Zeledon, Manager of Humanetics Precision Metal Works receiving the Top 5 Small Business award. Joe A. Morales, General Manager for Univision Radio in McAllen was the master of ceremonies. Morales said that this years winners demonstrate the spirit of free enterprise, and epitomize what the Valley and McAllen are all about: economic wellbeing, job creation and diversity. The first company to receive the award was Aptus Therapy Services, a company that started in 1996. Aptus is an outpatient rehabilitation clinic that is located in Edinburg, Rio Grande City, and Roma. Their upcoming expansion will be to the city of McAllen. They have had a steady increase in business of about 15 to 20% over the last three years. Charles Clark Chevrolet, also an award recipient, has been seventy years and four generations in the heart of McAllen. September of 2003 marked Charles Clark Chevrolet 70th Anniversary of sales and service in the Rio Grande Valley. It continues today with 157 employees and 3000 car sales annually. Domit Construction & Development was another recipient of this year’s Top 5 Small Business Award. Its president, Tony Domit, received the award and spoke to the audience. “All construction we do has to look like a very nice piece of art,” Domit said. He also mentioned that in their constructions they hire local people thus creating more employment and a better life for many families. Luis Zeledon from Humanetics was in charge of receiving the award. Humanetics is a leading metal fabrication company. Humanetics opened its new facility in McAllen on February 6, 2004. “We are the only company in the Valley that does what we do, and we are excited to be part of the community,” Zeledon said. Valley Garden Center was another one of the Top Five Small Business for this year. Established in 1976, Valley Garden Center has been recognized as the leading garden center in the valley. Valley Garden Center has been also recognized for their innovative landscaping service. The business grew from 12 employees to about 80 by 1999. Currently they have about 105 employees and have experienced 850% increase in sales since 1986. The winners of the 2004 Top Five Small Business Awards. Humanetics www.humanetics.com 972-416-1304

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Humanetics pledges to manufacture quality products that exceed our customer's expectations by continuously striving for improvement and total customer satisfaction.