Safety Vision, a Houston-headquartered provider of mobile video solutions, announced that the Small Business Administration has named Safety Vision President Bruce Smith as Small Business Person of the Year. The award coincides with National Small Business Week, which celebrates the small business community’s contributions to the American economy and society.
Every year, the award goes to several recipients: one from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. Selection criteria include the businesses’ staying power, territorial expansion, square footage occupied, increase in net worth, and growth in personnel.
Safety Vision has been helping safeguard people and property since its 1993 founding, when Smith was a one-man operation. Over the years, Smith and company evolved from distributor of a single mobile camera line to designer, manufacturer and installer of Safety Vision’s own complete suite of mobile video products. The company today boasts more than 115 employees, serving an international client base out of six offices across the United States.
Under Smith’s hand, Safety Vision also has been helping the community, supporting charitable causes including Texas Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PBS and the Houston Food Bank. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the company played a prominent local role in disaster recovery, volunteering man-hours and floor space to run a designated dropoff point for hurricane relief items. Smith also established a 100 percent company match for employee cash donations to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund.
“This is a special award for me – as a businessman, a Texan and an American,” says Smith. “I’m proud of the growth and accomplishments of the company I founded, and I’m proud of the contributions we’ve made to the country’s economy and to the safety and well-being of its citizens. They say everything’s bigger in Texas? Safety Vision has shown just how big a small business can be. We do Texas proud.”
Safety Vision is a global provider of total mobile video solutions, including onboard surveillance and collision avoidance camera systems. Components include mobile-rated digital video recorders, cameras and monitors.
