Like many other events, Small Business Week for the Pikes Peak Region, which begins Monday, is moving to a virtual format this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seminars and workshops, as well as the annual awards ceremony, will be virtual. The Food Truck Cook-Off, meanwhile, will become a self-guided tour of local food trucks over the next 10 months.
“During this week we are celebrating small businesses that unequivocally are the backbone of our economy,” Aikta Marcoulier, executive director of the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center, said in a news release from the SBDC and the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado.
The food truck tour will be called “A License to Eat” and include a free entree valued up to $10 redeemed during Small Business Week and discounts at 24 participating food trucks through April 30. Guides with the free entree and discounts can be purchased for $25 at bbbsc.wufoo.com/forms/license-to-eat-food-truck-guide.
Food truck customers will still select the winner of the People’s Choice Award through online voting.
Free seminars and workshops are available daily starting with “Digital Messaging and Marketing During a Pandemic,” 9-11 a.m. Monday.
Other events include an online tour and panel discussion on the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, 9-11 a.m. Tuesday; “Avoiding Burnout in Turbulent Times,” 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, “Office Hours with a Banker,” 1-2 p.m. Wednesday; and “Supporting Minority Owned Business” from 9-11 a.m. July 30. A detailed schedule is available at PikesPeakSBDC.org/sbw.
The small-business awards celebration will be from 3-5 p.m. July 31. Finalists for the awards are:
• Jennifer Farnes of Revolution Jewelry Works, Renee Green of Valley Christian Academy and Trevor Terrill of TNT Landscaping for the Small Business Person Award.
• Lola Woloch of the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Rodney Gullatte Jr. of Firma IT Solutions and Bob Kittridge of Focus Point Solution for the Small Business Champion Award.
• Trevor Terrill of TNT Landscaping, Tiffany Cox of Tiffany Cox Design and Latrina Ollie of Quar Notary for the Small Business Young Entrepreneur Award.
• Rhonda Cicak of Day Lilly Salon, Manuel Vasquez of Goldminers Nuts and Candy and Michael Podczervinski of Bills Plumbing and Drain for the Family Owned Business Award.
• Bruce McClintock of Hike for Life, James Garofalo of ViewPointe Psychotherapy Services and Claudette Hutchinson of Spice Island Grill for the Veteran Owned Business Award.