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Established in 1991

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for NY Names Pamela Newman of ISS Action Small Business Person of the Year

New York – Pamela Newman is recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration in New York State as the Small Business Person of the Year. Coming from a background in marketing with a top firm in New York City, Pamela was presented with a tremendous amount of hardship that in a way was a huge blessing.

Pamela Newman Accepting the Award for SBA Business Person of the Year 2017, Next to Linda McMahon, Secretary of the SBA

While pregnant with triplets, Pamela’s Long Island home burned down, forcing her and her husband to move in with her parents. “What it came down to was that we needed to eat,” said Pamela Newman, from company headquarters near JFK airport in Queens. “We installed a commercial telephone line in the house and started our business from my parents’ basement. That was 1991. Today we contract with six federal agencies and employ 250 people. It turned out that the triplets and the fire were actually very big blessings for us.”

Pamela Newman’s ability to transform problems into opportunities is part of the reason she was selected as the 2017 New York State Small business Person of the Year.

Pamela will represent New York at the SBA Small Business Person of the Year award ceremony on Monday, May 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Linda McMahaon, the SBA Administrator, called it an honor to celebrate winners of this year’s National Small Business Week Award winners. “More than half of all Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of three net new jobs in the U.S. each year,” said McMahon. “I couldn’t be prouder of all of the awardees this year – they are working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.”

ISS Action Security is a full service security firm, providing services as broad as badge and ID services, plans for emergency responses, risk management services, and more, through training facilities in New York, Florida and New Jersey (see more about ISS Action services). Pamela Newman has been working hard since originally opening the company to increase safety in America. In the 1990s, ISS Action Security helped fight the U.S. drug war while in contract with major airlines. Through contracts with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Pamela Newman’s company has helped protect New York City. Newman’s company gross revenue for 2016 was right around $14 million, and over the years, ISS Action Security has contracted with varied firms such as:

  • NASA
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Deparment of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
  • Department of Transportation (DOT)
  • Maritime Administration (MARAD)

The district SBA director for New York, Beth Goldberg, congratulated Pamela Newman of ISS Action Security on the award, while pointing to several growth factors such as an increase in sales, the number of employees, and market staying power as highlights of the company’s performance. Goldberg discusses how the SBA and ISS Action worked together to help fuel ISS Action’s growth:

“Pam Newman was a graduate of SBA New York’s very first Emerging Leaders Program in 2015. SBA helped the company locate to a new building with a 504 real estate loan and has approved a second loan for $4.25 million to build a state-of-the-art training center near JFK. The 8(a) program helped ISS Action Security develop its talents and resources more effectively to win sole source government contracts. This is a great SBA success story that we’re proud to share with the community.”

Newman has pushed through tough times with her business, including surviving a subcontractor backing out of a major contract (something she survived through skills learned in the Emerging Leaders Program from the SBA). In the beginning of her business, it was only the 19th bank that gave her a loan after she put up her home as collateral. The new building in Queens now gives ISS Action a new home near the same airport where business first took off more than 20 years ago. Pamela Newman continues to grow and strengthen her business along the way, regardless of what challenge she faces. She says:

“Owning a small business is really about building a family. We started because we needed a way to provide for our family, and now our family of employees is what keeps us going and helps make the business strong.”

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