Russell's Heating & Cooling was selected as the 2011 Small Business of The Year for Chesapeake. The 27th annual Hampton Roads Small Business of the Year (SBOY) Awards luncheon was held May 19 at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach-Norfolk Hotel & Conference Center with more than 300 people in attendance. The event, held during National Small Business Week, featured guest speaker Congressman Scott Rigell.

The winning businesses for the cities in Hampton Roads were chosen based on financial performance and business history, staff training and motivation, community involvement, business plan, growth, and customer service and satisfaction.

I am so excited to be a repeat winner, said Buddy Smith, President of Russell's Heating & Cooling. We were fortunate to receive the award in 2004, and that makes it especially nice to be chosen again this year.

Buddy decided to close the company for several hours so that all 29 employees at Russell's could be present for the award. It was worth it. We made memories together that will stay with our team for a very long time, he said. Being there really made me proud to work at Russell's, added service technician Dwight Hoenes. When Russell's was announced as the winner for Chesapeake, the employees all jumped to their feet and cheered loudly.

Russell's is a nearly 35-year-old family business and has managed to grow consistently over the past few years despite the tough economic climate. Everyone really pitched in