City Company Wins National Award
May 13, 2009
By Jeremy Hunt, Daily News Record
HARRISONBURG - A Harrisonburg-based landscape and design company won a national award Tuesday from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Fine Earth LLC received the Community Excellence Award at a luncheon during the chamber's Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C., officials said.
"We were really excited and humbled at the same time," owner Chad Layman said.
In addition to the national recognition that comes with the award, Fine Earth also received a two-night stay at the Renaissance Washington Hotel in D.C.
The company was chosen from among 56 small businesses around the country that were recognized in March with the chamber's Blue Ribbon Award.
The winner was decided largely by online voting in April, according to information from the chamber.
The competition was stiff, Layman said, as there were companies from bigger cities such as Denver and New York City.
"It was kind of David versus Goliath," he said.
The award also takes into account how involved the company and its employees are in the community.
"This award is recognition of a company completely devoted to its customers, its employees, and the greater Harrisonburg community," Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.
Layman, 36, started Fine Earth in 1995 after graduating from James Madison University with a degree in accounting.
The company has 24 employees working in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, he said.
"We just think it's not just about making money, but it's also about giving back to the community," he said. "That's also helped us along the way."
Contact Jeremy Hunt at 574-6273 or jhunt@dnronline.com