FAIRMONT – West Virginia’s Small Business Person of the Year said Wednesday that Mountain State residents, and Mountain State entrepreneurs, share a sense of community that isn’t always present in other places.
“We’re all immigrants,” Madhur Bedre said. “We’re all family.”
Bedre, an engineer who founded Atlas Prediction Control firm in South Charleston on Valentine’s Day in 2019, topped the list of honorees at the state Small Business Administration gathering in Fairmont.
The audience in the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center included U.S. Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), the former governor who was accompanied by his crowd-pleasing bulldog companion, Babydog.
“You are really, truly the backbone of everything we do,” said Justice, a surprise addition to the program who made brief remarks before leaving early.
“You’re the engines that run the country like you can’t even imagine,” he continued.
Meanwhile, the Mountain State, Bedre said, opened doors and provided opportunities he couldn’t have even begun to imagine, as he put it, when he crossed an ocean to get here in 2010.
“I journeyed from a small town in India to a small town in West Virginia,” he said, “and here we are.”
Bedre’s company deploys artificial intelligence and analytics to help companies and processes in the chemical and high-tech industries.
Two Morgantown establishments were also singled out by the SBA: Roman’s Wellness Center, a holistic spa founded by Stacy Roman, was recognized as West Virginia Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year.
Blue Mountain K-9 LLC, a dog-grooming and boarding establishment, was named West Virginia Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year. Andrew Pintus III launched it when he came back home after serving a 12-year hitch in the U.S. Marines.
Other honorees:
Cyclops Industries, South Charleston, Small Business Manufacturer of the Year.
Problem Solver’s Consultants, Buckhannon, West Virginia Rural Small Business of the Year.
Blue Gold Development LLC, Fairmont, West Virginia Blue Collar Small Business of the Year.
Marchell’s Barbershop, Parkersburg, West Virginia Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.
Huntington National Bank and First Community Bank were lauded for their loan-writing to the Mountain State’s budding entrepreneurs.
Kris Warner, West Virginia’s secretary of state, echoed Justice as he talked before the program about the collective vision and persistence – shared, he said – by every small business owner in the Mountain State.
“They’re the people who take the risk,” he said. “They’re the ones that employ our friends and neighbors and family members.”
