Chris Burkhard, owner and president of Placers Staffing, Newark, has been selected as Delaware’s Small Business Person of the Year for 2020.
Burkhard said “I’m humbled and honored. Any time that you are picked out of the approximately 13,000 businesses in the state of Delaware, being number one on this particular day is pretty cool in my book. The SBA is a great resource for business. They helped me 20 years ago to get things started for my business and honestly I think people forget that the SBA is the organization that was instrumental for the recent Payroll Protection Program. Placers benefited from that to employ people and keep people working in the state. There are so many other businesses in the state that are thankful for that connection. Honestly, this award means that I have to go to work and live up to it each and every day.”
Burkhard followed in the steps of his father Alan in founding a staffing and human resources consulting firm. Burchard settled on the Placers name, which was used by his father for the staffing firm he later sold. The new Placers has grown over the years and has made appearances on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies. (See below)
Each year, the SBA celebrates National Small Business Week by recognizing the achievements of outstanding small business owners and entrepreneurs across the United States. All NSBW winners were recognized during a virtual event on September 22.
SBA also co-hosted a free, three-day virtual conference featuring educational workshops and networking.
