WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes the Office of Surety Guarantees award winners for their continued work to help small contracting businesses acquire surety bonds.
Three SBA surety bond partners were selected to receive awards based on their participation, activity, claims and recovery and their commitment to helping small businesses obtain contracts with both government and private sector entities.
Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America was recognized as Surety of the Year. The Fedeli Group and Marcia D. Smith of Bond Specialist were honored as Surety Agency of the Year and Surety Agent of the Year, respectively.
Bill Manger, Associate Administrator for the SBA’s Office of Capital Access said, “Our partners in the Surety Bond Guarantee Program have done an incredible job helping America’s small businesses and these awards are a testament to the importance of the work being done to help entrepreneurs obtain bonding and compete for contracts in a strong U.S. economy.”
Surety of the Year award recipient, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, has been a participant in the SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantees preferred program since 1990, and has assisted small and emerging contractors over the years through their Construction Services Express program in Exton, Pennsylvania. For more than 160 years, Travelers has earned a reputation as leading property casualty insurer. Their expertise and focus on innovation have made them a leader in personal, business and specialty insurance.
“We are proud of our partnership with the Small Business Administration, and extremely honored to receive its designation as Surety of the Year,” said Bob Raney, Senior Vice President for Construction Services, Bond & Specialty Insurance at Travelers. “Travelers has a long history of helping contractors of all sizes and trades succeed, and we look forward to continuing our dedicated work with the SBA.”
Surety Agency of the Year, the Fedeli Group, is a locally owned, multi-line insurance agency located in the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Independence. They have been working with the SBA since 2007, writing bonds and insurance in Ohio, the surrounding states and much of the United States. Founded in 1988, the Fedeli Group works closely with their clients providing consultative services and innovative solutions to their risk management needs.
Surety Agent of the Year, Marcia D. Smith of Bond Specialist (dba Marcia Smith Surety) entered the surety business in 1973, and worked for several major agencies and companies before starting Bond Specialist Insurance Services in 1990. Smith found the SBA Surety Bond Guarantees program to be a perfect partner for many of her clients. She placed her first client in the SBA’s SBG program in the late 1980’s and continues doing so today.
The SBA Surety Bond Guarantees program has 32 surety partners and 350 active agents nationwide, and has guaranteed more than 10,000 bonds with a contract value of over six billion. More information about the SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantees program is available on the SBA.gov website. For further assistance, surety companies may contact the Acting Director of the Office of Surety Guarantees, Peter.Gibbs@sba.gov.
###
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.