2005 Small Businessperson of The Year

Dr. Bill Williams is honored to have been awarded the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce’s Small Businessperson of the Year Award in 2005.

Without question, Dr. Williams deserves this award. His many contributions to his community, several charities, local organizations, and most of all, the people of Atlanta make up a just a small fraction of the many reasons.

In fact, the criteria for being considered for this award are:

1. Primary owner or major stockholder of the business
2. Member of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
3. Staying power — a substantial history as an established business
4. Growth in the number of employees
5. Increase in the sales dollar and/or unit volume
6. Original entrepreneurship
7. Innovations of product or services offered
8. Response to adversity
9. Active member of the community

Here are the various features about this prestigious award. Click on the images to view the larger version. Below are excerpts from articles published about this award.

Article Published in the Gwinnett Daily Post

Dr. Bill Williams doesn’t run a Fortune 500 firm, but he takes on supersized challenges. His Suwanee dental practice handles almost every kind of procedure in the book, from root canals to reconstruction. He aims for bright, toothy smiles on every hockey player that sits in his chair. And he takes an annual dental mission to Kenya, where he and his brother bring medical services to parts of the African country without water or electricity.

So impressed were his Gwinnett business peers that they gave him the top honor for an entrepreneur. In front of a packed room of business and political leaders Monday, Williams accepted the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year award.

“I’m truly humbled,” said Williams, owner of Suwanee Dental Care and dentist for the Gwinnett Gladiators Hockey team. Williams launched Suwanee Dental in 1997, not long after selling his 23-year practice in Stone Mountain.

He said he did not expect the new Suwanee business to grow as quickly as it has, but it is adding at least 100 patients every month.

Then again, Williams said he isn’t that surprised. “Staying small isn’t really part of my genetic makeup,” he said. “We started in a 1,000-square-foot building, then moved to 4,000, and now we’re looking to expand again.”

It was the 23rd time the Gwinnett Chamber awarded the Small Business Person of the Year. Among the criteria are staying power, sales growth and contributions to the community. Williams also works at the Hebron Dental Clinic for the poor and contributes to the Brighter Smiles for Brighter Futures Campaign, which fights breast cancer.

With the award, Williams qualifies to compete for Georgia’s small business person of the year in the fall. If successful, he has a chance to capture the national honor.

Williams was among five Gwinnett finalists for the Small Business Person of the Year: Bruce and Dee Arnett, Carnett’s Car Wash Grace Lopez-Williams, Grace Lopez-Williams accounting and management consulting firm. Louis Young, Columbia Engineering Roger Green, Green Financial Resources.

Source: By Douglas Sams, Staff Writer, Gwinnett Daily Post (06/21/2005).

Excerpt From June 2005 Gwinnett Business Journal

The premier local event marking the successes and leadership abilities of Gwinnett’s small businesses is schedule for June 20.

On that day, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce will recognize the local business leader who best exemplifies the standards of excellence in the small business community.

In support of National Small Business Week, the Gwinnett Chamber will award the “2005 Gwinnett Small Business Person of the Year” during the general membership meeting. The luncheon event will occur from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott-Gwinnett Place.

Award finalists include Bruce and Dee Arnett with Carnett’s Car Washes, Roger Green with Green Financial Resources LLC, Dr. Bill Williams with Suwanee Dental Care, Grace Williams with Grace Williams CPA PC and Louis Young with Columbia Engineering & Services Inc.

The “Small Business Person of the Year” award recognizes the legacy of ingenuity and enterprise in Gwinnett by celebrating the commitment and diligence of small business owners and the risks they must take in order to succeed.

“Small businesses are the economic backbone of Gwinnett, allowing our county’s economy to continue to grow and prosper,” said Gwinnett Chamber President Jim Maran. “It is their innovations, hard work and drive that keeps the entrepreneurial spirit alive in Gwinnett and helping people to realize the ‘American dream.’”

Small businesses hire a larger portion of employees who are younger workers, older workers and part-time workers while providing approximately 75 percent of net new jobs added to the economy. In Gwinnett, small businesses account for 80 percent of the total business with 22,000 registered small businesses.

The luncheon’s keynote speaker will be David Snell, vice president and corporate secretary of E.R. Snell Contractor Inc. He will address more than 200 Gwinnett Chamber members and guests on how E.R. Snell Contractor, a family-owned, local business and one of the largest prime contractors in Georgia, has assured the continuity of success for over 82 years and through more than five generations of family members.

Dr. Bill Williams — Suwanee Dental Care

Dr. Bill Williams of Suwanee Dental Care does what has been called decathlon dentistry, which includes cosmetics, sedation, laser, TMJ, reconstruction, root canal and gum treatments, oral surgery and dental implants, orthodontics, restorative, denture and pediatric dentistry.

When he is not at the dental office, he is working on one of several Web sites that he built and maintains like suwaneedental.com, volunteering as the team dentist for the Gwinnett Gladiators Hockey Team, attending Elijah House Prayer Minister classes at Sugar Hill United Methodist Church, Bible Study Fellowship classes or Academy of General Dentistry Mastership classes.

Williams believes that charity begins at home and works at the Hebron Dental Clinic for indigent patients and works with the Brighter Smiles for Brighter Futures Campaign that fights breast cancer with Gwinnett Medical. He is also the dentist for the Extreme Makeover Team: Restored Images, dedicated to giving a graduate of the Lucy Hall Freedom House for Women a new lease on life. Williams’ most interesting activity is his annual dental mission to the Masai Mara area of Kenya. This year he leads a team of 27 from May 27 to June 8 to Kenya for medical, dental, construction, and evangelism and children’s ministry.

Suwanee Dental Care was started in 1997 after Williams sold his practice of 23 years in Stone Mountain. They grew from three employees in 1,200 square-feet to 18 employees in 4,000 square-feet during eight years. The practice has attracted more than 100 new patients per month, every month, for the majority of its existence. They were named the “Best of Gwinnett” dental practice in both 2003 and 2004 by Gwinnett Magazine readers.