NSBA today named Larry Nannis, Lawrence S. Nannis Consultant to Entrepreneurs of Framingham, Mass., the 2018 Lew Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year. The award recognizes small-business owners who go above and beyond in advocating for policies to improve America's small-business community.

"Larry Nannis has been an outspoken advocate on small-business issues for nearly 40 years, and I am honored to give him this award," stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. "His knowledge and dedication has been instrumental in many major legislative wins for small business, and we are all better off today because of him."

Nannis has served in various leadership roles with the New England Business Association (formerly the Smaller Business Association of New England) and NSBA, and played a key role in broadening today's far-reaching NSBA. Nannis worked on legislation to create the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the SBA's Small Business Development Centers, and has been an invaluable resource on tax legislation.

He has testified before Congress, made annual trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for pro-small-business policies and has served as a mentor to countless small-business advocates. In 1995, Nannis was named a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business, and he continues to lobby for another Conference today.

In addition to honoring Nannis, NSBA also recognized the following small-business owners for their excellence in advocating on small-business issues: Lisa Fullerton, A Novel Idea in San Antonio, Texas, Chris Holman, Michigan Business Monthly in Lansing, Michigan, Mike Schreurs, Strategic America in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Rick Whipple, WhippleWood CPAs in Littleton, Colorado.

"Larry Nannis is a very special kind of advocate—he is tireless, he is passionate, he is inclusive and he is bipartisan—all while running successful small businesses," stated NSBA Chair Cynthia Kay of Cynthia Kay and Co. "He is the model of a small-business advocate and a fitting leader for this year's impressive group of small-business award winners."

Celebrating more than 80 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America's entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S., and we are proud to be the nation's first small-business advocacy organization. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.