ADELPHI, MD. -- The 100 best Minority Business entrepreneurs of the mid-Atlantic region were honored at a sold-out event at the Inn and Conference Center at University of Maryland University College (UMBC). Out of the 100 companies recognized, nine belong to Asian Americans. These top entrepreneurs continue to be the driving force of the region’s economic development, and will be the driving force of the region’s economic recovery.

A panel of distinguished judges chose this year’s 100 winners from among 5000 nominations, based on their outstanding achievements in four key areas: business development, client satisfaction, professional affiliations and community outreach. Nominations for the awards were solicited through local chambers of commerce, professional organizations, the business community, and public.  This is the only mid-Atlantic regions program of its kind.

Sharon R. Pinder, CEO, Center for Business Inclusion and Diversity, and founder of the Top 100 MBE® Awards announced this year’s top 100 MBEs.

The annual awards program, created by Pinder, was designed to recognize and pay tribute to outstanding women and minority business owners, in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia, who fuel the region’s economy through their innovation, sacrifices, and dedication. Those business owners, Pinder said, “are living their dreams and making significant contributions to their clients, professions, industries and communities.”

The sponsors of the high-profile MBE awards ceremony are HMSHost, PNC Bank, Whiting-Turner Contracting, Maryland Dept of Business and Economic Development (DBED), Maryland Dept. Of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs (GOMA), Maryland Dept. of Transportation, Maryland Dept. of General Services (DGS), U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Maryland State Lottery, IWIF, and Pepco.

The media Sponsors of the event are: The Daily Record, The Baltimore Business Journal, Comcast, The Washington Informer, The Baltimore Times, The Business Monthly, The Afro American Newspaper, MyCity4Her.com, and Asian Fortune Newspaper. SPO

 “This is our fifth year, and the program continues to grow,” said Pinder.

  In congratulating the award recipients, Pinder said, “Successful entrepreneurs need clear thinking to constantly reshape and redefine themselves, striving to serve their customers better, faster and less expensively than their competitors. The 2010 Top 100 MBEs have excelled at these skills. ”

The 2010 MBE Asian American Awardees are:

Sadhna Agrawal, President of  Astor & Sanders Corporation is a woman –owned Small Business Administration (SBA) Certified company that provides information technology (IT)services for the government and commercial clients.  The service offerings include computer programming, systems design, software engineering, information security, telecommunication, project management as well as operations and maintenance. Astor is well known in the federal and state government communities and has acquired many prime contracts on a competitive basis. Ms. Agrawal takes pride in the fact that her vision has come true and she is regarded as a leading representative of small businesses on various industry advisory boards.

Pritam Arora, President of Design Engineering Incorporated (DEI). DEI is an independently owned civil engineering firm based in Gaithersburg, with core services in civil/site planning, engineering, and related services for the development of commercial, institutional, religious, industrial, residential & recreational buildings and related site improvements. DEI includes among its clients prominent developers and institutions. The Pettit Companies, The Tower Companies, Minkoff Company, Jerry’s System Inc, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, Bradley Hill Presbyterian Church, Rajdhani Mandir, Federal Democratic republic of Germany, Marriott Corporation, Mc Donald’s Corporation, Checkers Restaurant Inc, Lowe Enterprises, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Smithsonian Institution. Arora’s proudest accomplishment as a business owner has been “to meet our firm’s commitment, for the last 27years."

Sujata Gupta is CEO and Managing Member, and Vaikunth is General Partner of  Gupta Panum Group, LLC, located in Bethesda , MD ,  an award winning small disadvantaged woman-owned business. Panum has won “Company of the Year” in 2 of the last 3 years. Panum’s management team consists of seasonal executives with both industry and governmental experience. The company has won twice, contracts worth $3.5 million. The company also sets up training programs for those in need. 

Danny Lee is President of Connect International Inc... The company has been a leading provider of Informational Technology consulting services since 1996, and has managed mission-critical tasks and provided IT solutions for the government and top Fortune 500 industries. Connect has expertise in System Life Cycle Development (SDLC) Services, Enterprise Architecture, Cyber Security, Search Engine, System Integration Shopping Cart, Web Portal Design, Disastrous Recovery, SOAP/XML, Training, and documentation. The capabilities of Connect are highly competitive in the IT services industry. The company was awarded the 2009 Small Business of the Year in Information Technology Services by the Small Business Commerce Association in California . 

Matthew Lee is President of FASTech, Inc; a successful minority owned SDB certified company.  Lee migrated to the US from Korea when he was 19, and received a BS from Virginia Tech and an MS from Johns Hopkins, both in Electrical Engineering. FASTech has built its reputation by providing quality Information Technology (IT) products and services to Federal, State, and Local Agencies, and commercial clients. Established in 1990, FASTech’s clients include the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Treasury, Department of Defense, and Maryland Department of Transportation. The company’s services and product capabilities include Security Technology, Custom Software, Database Development, Network Engineering, Facilities Management, Security Products, and Hardware/Software Products.  FASTech is now a multi-faceted company. Lee has been able to mentor colleagues as they start their own companies. “I truly believe that this is my greatest achievement.”

Ravi Waldon is President and Principal of Waldon Studio Architects & Planners PC.  Waldon Studio Architects provided quality architectural planning and design services throughout Maryland since 2003. Clients include the MNCPPC, the USDA, the MDGS and many satisfied private sector clients. Ravi Waldon’s proudest accomplishment is that “we have remained stable during these uncertain times, that clients have appreciated what we have done during and after working together, and that my employees are happy to be here every day.”

A. Rani Parker, PhD, is President of Business-Community Synergies (BCS), a Dynamic company providing specialized services in the corporate community engagement to leading global companies in the energy and extractive sectors. The company’s clients are prominent international actors such as BG Group, Chevron and the World Bank Group.  BCS has worked in 12 countries including the US . It operates through a global network of consultants that include representatives in London , Paris , Abu Dhabi , and Washington DC . BCS’s network of consultants has worked in over 100 countries. Founded in 2004, BCS is a certified 8(a) firm and Minority Business Enterprise. Parker says the biggest accomplishment of BCS is “we have operated consistently with quality and credibility, and BCS has grown through word of mouth from satisfied clients, generating profits every year that we have been in operation.” 

Dr. Dilip Som is President and CEO of Computer Prompting & Captioning Co (CPC) which has been the world’s leading closed captioning software developer since 1986, and has been operating a leading closed captioning service since 1989.  Since 1986 when CPC shipped the world’s first simultaneous closed captioning/teleprompting software, through 2005, when CPC patented the world’s only software captioning encoder, and continuing today, with the only HD software captioning encoder, CPC has opened closed captioning to a vast audience. CPC has also developed closed captioning software for all web formats including YouTube. In fact, President Obama’s YouTube videos are captioned using CPC software. CPC has developed the first low cost stand-alone captioning service.  

Venkat Subramanian is owner and CEO of Angarai International, Inc., a firm that provides holistic oversight solutions and encompassing Program/Project Management, Governance & Compliance, QA/QC, IV&V, and Business Transformation and Innovative solutions. Angarai, named after Subramanian’s native village in Tamil Nadu, India , has grown organically, consistently and strategically.  He says” we are proud of our accomplishment, organizational culture, and espoused values. Providing a career to motivate personnel encompassing various educational, gender, ethnic background resulting in the melting pot called 'Angarai Family' is indeed our proudest accomplishment."

CAPTION:

The Asian American 2010 MBE Award Winners: (Left to Right) Matthew Lee, President of FASTech, Inc; Pritam Arora, President, Design Engineering Incorporated;  Susan Aldridge, PhD, President UMUC;  Sharon R. Pinder, CEO, Center for Business Inclusion and Diversity, and founder of the Top 100 MBE® Awards; Rani A. Parker, PhD, President of Business-Community Synergies (BCS); Venkat Subramanian, Owner and CEO of Angarai International Inc; (Not in the picture are: Sadhna Agrawal, Sujata Gupta and Vaikunth, Danny Lee, Ravi Waldon, and Dr. Dilip Som)