1. Contact:
Rountree Group
770-645-4545
Don Rountree
don@rountreegroup.com
Bethany Garner
bgarner@rountreegroup.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Debbi Shapiro
Named 2010 Small Business Person of the Year
As Awards Event Marks 24th Year
ATLANTA – Debbi Shapiro, president of Henderson Shapiro, Inc., was named metro
Atlanta’s 2010 Small Business Person of the Year today at the 24th annual Small Business
Person of the Year Awards.
The event, which for 24 years has honored one outstanding small
businessperson for his/her contributions to Atlanta's civic and business
community, is co-hosted by MAC and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
“Debbi had such a clear vision for the direction of her business, which
makes her stand out," said Jeff Albert, principal of World Logo; chair of
the selection committee for the 2010 Small Business Person of the Year;
and a member of MAC’s Small Business Growth Council. “She is a
shining example of how intention and focus will lead to success for small
businesses.”
Small businesses are a critical sector. Of the more than 143,000 businesses in metro Atlanta,
nearly 95 percent employ fewer than 50 people. Metro Atlanta had the highest entrepreneurial
activity rate among the 15 largest metropolitan areas of the country, and Atlanta was named
best city for new grads due to affordable rent and opportunities for popular entry-level
categories: sales, marketing and customer service.
Henderson Shapiro was established in 1994 in an effort to provide marketing and related
business services in a non-traditional agency setting. The company is located in Roswell, Ga.,
and has about 20 employees.
(more)

2. (2010 Small Business Person of the Year, Page 2)
Henderson Shapiro accomplishments include: being awarded the 1996 Coca-Cola Olympic City
marketing roll-out initiative; being recognized in 2007 by Working Mother Magazine as one of
the Top 50 Small Businesses for working moms; self-publishing The Common Thread, a book
highlighting 35 years of the Peachtree Road Race T-shirt; as well as 18 awards for outstanding
creative for clients, including Intelliverse, GreenGuard, Georgia-Pacific, Litchfield Research,
Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, Hadassah, The Council on Alcohol and Drugs and others.
Other finalists for the 2010 Small Business Person of the Year Award were:
• Susan Bixler, president and CEO, Bixler Consulting Group
• Shelly Justice, CEO, Convention Models and Talent, Inc.
• Chad Massaker, managing principal, Carceron
• Shannon Russo, CEO, Kinetix, Inc.
To qualify, nominees were required to be a primary owner or a major shareholder of a business
that has been locally established for at least three years with gross annual revenues not
exceeding $40 million and with fewer than 100 employees. They were also required to be a
member of the Chamber and an active member of the community.
This year’s sponsors included AT&T, AirTran Airways, Bank of America, 920AM WGKA, and
ExactTarget.
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Metro Atlanta Chamber -- The Metro Atlanta Chamber brings the best together to help
Atlanta thrive. We mobilize and connect the business community to drive economic
development and public policies that promote sustainable growth. Our board draws from
Atlanta’s top business leaders. We have a professional staff of 90 and serve 4,000
member companies who employ nearly a million workers. In Economic Development,
our project managers attract the best companies and the best jobs. In Public Policy, we
tackle crisis issues and critical quality-of-life challenges such as transportation, water
and education. For our members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year to help
them connect and make business contacts. In sports, MAC’s Atlanta Sports Council has
helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact over the past 10 years by hosting
major sporting events. In 2009, the Chamber celebrated 150 years of bringing Atlanta
leaders together.