President Trump and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler hosted more than 100 small business owners at the White House on May 4, 2026, opening National Small Business Week with a Small Business Summit that crowned Mark Lamoncha, president and CEO of Humtown Products in Columbiana, Ohio, as the 2026 National Small Business Person of the Year. State and territory winners from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam, were recognized at the event.
The award is largely symbolic, but the spotlight on Humtown is unusually instructive for solopreneurs and microbusiness owners. Humtown began as a family-run pattern shop in northeast Ohio and now uses 3D sand printing to supply foundries, a specialty pivot that turned a regional 80-person operation into a federal contracting and export player.
What The White House Summit Actually Did
The summit recognized one Small Business Person of the Year for each state and territory, then named Lamoncha as the national winner from that pool. Honorees were nominated through SBA district offices and reviewed against criteria including job creation, financial stability, growth, innovation, and community contribution.
The agenda paired the awards ceremony with policy remarks on tax permanence, regulatory cuts, and the Trump administration’s small business agenda. Loeffler used the platform to preview the rest of NSBW programming, including the Virtual Summit on May 5 and 6 and the in-person tour that will roll through Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia between May 4 and May 9.
Lamoncha spoke from the East Room about Humtown’s pivot from traditional pattern-making to additive manufacturing for foundry cores and molds. Under his leadership, the company invested in 3D sand printers that enable short-run, complex parts that older pattern shops cannot match, and that bet has put Humtown into the supply chains of defense, energy, and aerospace customers.
Why This Matters For Self-Employed Owners
The Lamoncha story models the route that wins federal recognition in 2026, and it is not the path most solopreneurs imagine. The judges weighted technology adoption, export readiness, and resilience after a multi-year industry slump, not headline revenue or social media following.
For self-employed owners weighing whether to pursue federal contracting, SBIR grants, or 504 expansion loans, the win signals that the SBA is rewarding owners who reinvest in capital equipment and process changes. Owners who can document a clear before-and-after on technology adoption have a better chance with district nominations than owners pitching topline growth alone.
What Self-Employed Owners Should Do Next
Read the Humtown citation and the other state winners’ summaries on the SBA awards page, and use them as a benchmark for your own 2027 nomination packet. District offices begin accepting nominations in the late fall, and many owners miss the window because they assume the program is closed to small operators with under 20 employees.
Take 30 minutes during NSBW to walk through the Virtual Summit’s free programming and the regional tour stops that pass through your state. The sessions on capital access, AI adoption, and export assistance often highlight specific federal programs that solopreneurs and microbusinesses are eligible for but may not have heard of, and they tie back to the policy themes the White House emphasized at the awards event.
What To Watch Next
The full slate of NSBW activities continues through May 9, including the Virtual Summit and the four-state in-person tour previewed when SBA named its 2026 cosponsor lineup. Watch for follow-on policy announcements from SBA’s small business advocacy office tied to the awards.
Lamoncha’s win also tees up an Ohio-led conversation on additive manufacturing for small operators, which could influence how SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation directs SBIR and STTR funds in the next round of solicitations. Owners in advanced manufacturing should track the SBIR fall solicitations for new topic areas tied to additive and digital foundry technologies.
Photo by Luke Michael: Unsplash
