Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Minnesota Small Business Development Centers honored the Southwest Minnesota SBDC team at an award ceremony Tuesday. From left to right are SBDC State Director Andy Donahue, Southwest SBDC business consultants Liz Struve, Pamela Lehmann and Ruth Ann Karty, SBA District Director Brian McDonald, Southwest SBDC Regional Director Christine Fischer, Associate Regional Director Kris Boedigheimer, and Southwest SBDC business consultants Paul Pierson and Berny Berger.

MARSHALL — Small businesses are a driving force in Minnesota, Brian McDonald said. That was a big reason why the small businesses and supporters in southwest Minnesota were worth celebrating.

“Small businesses are the engine of our nation’s economy,” said McDonald, director of the Minnesota District of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

On Tuesday, the SBA honored two southwest Minnesota business owners, as well as the staff of the Southwest Minnesota Small Business Development Center. Layne Lozinski, founder of Maxx Drainage, LLC in the Minneota area, was named as the SBA’s Minnesota Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Terri Wood, owner of Woody’s Trucking, Inc., in Willmar, received the SBA Minnesota District Office Women-Owned Small Business of the Year award.

The Southwest SBDC received the Minnesota Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Center Award. The Southwest SBDC provides services like consulting, training and research to help small business owners across an 18-county region.

“It’s a really happy day to be here today,” McDonald said. The awards ceremony was held at the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University, as part of National Small Business Week.

“National Small Business Week is held annually to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners and small business supporters across the nation. So this is happening all across the country,” McDonald said.

Award recipients said it was a bit of a shock, but a positive experience, to receive the honors.

“I feel grateful for it and happy to receive it,” Layne Lozinski said of being named Young Entrepreneur of the Year. “I was surprised that I got it, for sure.”

“I stand here today with a heart full of gratitude and pride, and we celebrate this achievement for the Southwest SBDC personnel,” said Southwest SBDC regional director Christine Fischer.

SBDC State Director Andy Donahue said the SBDC Excellence and Innovation Center Award is more than just an award. “This represents the innovation, the collaboration, the partnership that their offices have done over the last year,” Donahue said. The award recipients are voted on by the nine regional SBDCs in Minnesota, he said.

Donahue said the Southwest SBDC team stood out for their integrity, teamwork and professionalism.

“One of the first things I was told about the Southwest Minnesota team was how they had the ability to work through a variety of different situations that affect their community itself,” he said. Those situations included disaster relief, agriculture and even the COVID pandemic. “They would always find the ability to succeed, and find the ability to work collaboratively with their community partners.”

Fischer said the credit for the award went to the Southwest SBDC team, for their hard work and passion.

“Any time we’re talking about our consultants, we refer to them as the Southwest super crew,” she said. “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each member of our team. Your commitment to excellence and willingness to go above and beyond made this award possible for our team.”

Fisher also thanked Southwest SBDC’s clients, their partners at SMSU, the state SBDC office, and the regional SBA office.

Lozinski said he was surprised to learn he had received a statewide honor for businesspeople under 30.

“That makes it a little bit different, for the scope of the business, that they chose our agricultural base in this really small sector of the economy in the grand scheme of things,” he said. “I thought that was really unique on our behalf, with our business, and that was one thing that really shocked me.”

Lozinski grew up in rural Minneota, and is a 2022 graduate of SMSU.

“Originally I wanted to do agricultural banking. And then the summer I graduated high school, I worked for a family business that builds grain bins and installs field tile,” Lozinski said. “They ended up putting me on their tiling crew, and I really enjoyed it.”

At the age of 19, Lozinski founded Maxx Drainage, his own agricultural tile and drainage business. Today the business serves Lyon, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine, Redwood and Lac qui Parle Counties.

Presenters said Lozinski demonstrated a strong work ethic and a strategic vision that led to Maxx Drainage’s growth.

Lozinski said Southwest SBDC helped him with planning for and expending his business.

“They did a cash flow analysis, and helped us plan and purchase equipment,” he said. “They’re really good to work with.”

Woody’s Trucking started in Lester Prairie, and moved to Willmar in 2011. Owner Terri Wood said the Southwest SDBC helped the business purchase a location in the community. Today, the business has grown to a fleet of 18 trucks serving 40 contiguous states, as well as a full-service location. Wood is also active in the local community, with the Minnesota Trucking Association, and the Minnesota state SBDC board.

Wood said getting the news about the Women-Owned Small Business of the Year award was an emotional experience.

“I’m truly honored,” she said. “I was just instantly flooded with tears.”

Wood said hard work, dedication, and faith all went into leading her business. “My husband started the business, and I came alongside him. We work together,” she said. “You just get after it every day, and work hard every day.”