YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – YBI, formerly known as the Youngstown Business Incubator, will host the inaugural EmpowerUS Awards on Feb. 26 at Stambaugh Auditorium, an event designed to spotlight minority- and women-owned businesses whose work often goes unnoticed.
The awards ceremony, scheduled for 10:45 a.m., is organized by YBI’s Minority Business Assistance Center and will recognize five honorees across multiple categories. This year’s honorees include Jeff Green of Jazz in the Park, who will receive the Trailblazer Award; Rhonda Bowser, owner of BCI Granite, who will receive the Small Business Award; Jasmine Neal of Healing Hearts CPR, the On the Rise Award recipient; Ryan Gilchrist, who will receive the Legacy Award; and Organizacion Cívica y Cultural Hispana Americana, which will receive the nonprofit award.
Tanisha Wheeler, regional director of the MBAC, says the event was created to elevate businesses that operate quietly while making a significant impact.
“We chose five businesses from the area who have made a major impact in their various categories. We want to shine a light on some of the work that they’ve been doing.”
Wheeler says the EmpowerUS Awards differ from other business recognition efforts by focusing on companies that may be well-established but lack public visibility.
“So these businesses are the ones that kind of fall under the radar – so they’re around, but people don’t necessarily know that they’re around,” she says. “One of the small businesses that we’re highlighting is a granite company, and she’s done tons of granite work in the city, and nobody even knows that she is even in existence.”
Honorees were selected through a review process led by an advisory committee, which evaluated nominees based on criteria tied to each award category.
Wheeler says the event aligns with YBI’s broader mission to support underrepresented entrepreneurs through consistent, visible programming.
“So, of course, the MBAC is always looking for ways to shine a light on minority-owned businesses within our region,” she says. “So YBI decided that we needed to host a larger event on an annual basis to make sure that not only are we doing videos or podcasts or one-off events, but that we’re doing something on a larger scale every year to make sure that we’re highlighting the work that these businesses are doing.”
She emphasized the role that small, minority- and women-owned businesses play in sustaining local communities.
“They are the driving force of the community,” Wheeler says. “The mom and pop small businesses, the barber shops, the granite shops, the little convenience stores that you may see day to day – things that we need for survival are the small businesses that definitely thrive based on our support.”
Wheeler says organizers hope the event leads to tangible outcomes for the honorees, including increased visibility and revenue.
“We’re hoping that these small businesses definitely increase their revenue,” she says. “We’re hoping that people shop with them, that they support them, that they tell a friend about the great work that they’re doing.”
Sponsorship opportunities and ticket information are available through YBI.
Wheeler says the recognition is intended to honor individuals who do not seek attention but remain committed to their work.
“Everyone that we selected is humbly accepting. They’re not excited to talk in front of people. They’re not the people that look for the limelight,” she says. “They just like to keep their heads down and do the work. So we wanted to just make sure that we give them their flowers, we give them an opportunity to be showcased, and we hope that people come out and support them.”
For ticket and sponsorship information, click HERE.