Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1184230
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 9 M A C O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M 8 7 At the annual Business and Industry Awards Luncheon, A Salute to Business, hosted by the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce and the Macon Economic Development Commission, awards were presented to the Startup of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Business of the Year and Outstanding Young Business Leader of the Year. More than 200 people attended the event. THE STARTUP OF THE YEAR AWARD Dani-Rae & Company Working together at a local real estate office in 2014 Brittany Smith and Jordan Steinberg would shop online, during their lunch break of course, for jewelry and clothing. Taken aback by the high prices on some items they started to make their own jewelry and sell them online. They soon turned their hobby into a business, moving out of the basement and opening a store on Ingleside Ave. THE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD Geotechnical & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (GEC) Geotechnical & Environmental Consultants, Inc. is an engineering consulting firm with offices in Macon, Columbus, and LaGrange, Georgia. GEC provides consulting in three key areas including: Geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, and construction quality control testing. The firm began in 1991 as Geosciences, Inc. In 1999, a corporate restructuring occurred which resulted in the current name and creation of the Macon corporate and Columbus branch offices. THE SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD M&R Marketing Group M&R Marketing began in 2008 from an idea developed by two friends. They sensed a need in the Middle Georgia area for a full-service marketing agency that would create strong relationships with businesses and offer more consistency in their marketing efforts. The big idea was to do what they love with the people they enjoy doing it with. M&R's team of 14 works with clients across the country. THE OUTSTANDING YOUNG BUSINESS LEADER Shane Gottwals, Co-Founder and CEO of Gottwals Books Shane Gottwals was born and raised in Macon, attending church at Central Fellowship Baptist Church and school at Central Fellowship Christian Academy. He earned a B.A. in English from Mercer University, and spent a portion of his college years at Oxford University in England. Shane's extensive retail experience helped Gottwals Books/Walls of Books® become one of the largest used bookstore chains in the United States. Shane has been recognized in Georgia Trend as an Outstanding Georgian under the age of 40 and by the Georgia Economic Developers Association as a Rock Star. S A L U T E T O B U S I N E S S AW A R D S