Vistage Florida, an organization dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and enhancing the lives of CEOs, would like to give a shout out to one of its members, Mary Tappouni, who was recently named the 2009 Florida Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As founder and president of Breaking Ground Contracting in Jacksonville, Mary has excelled as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry. Since starting the company in 1997, she has expanded it to 14 employees, tripled revenues since 2004 and averaged 56 percent growth every year for the past three years.

Not only is she leading the way as a general contractor in Jacksonville, but she is also setting a fine example for all of us in her dedication to green, sustainable living.

• Mary offers her employees financial incentives for purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles

• She invests, on behalf of her employees, in renewable energy through Terrapass, a program that offsets our carbon footprints by funding clean energy products

• She is publishing a series of children’s books to raise awareness of green building in the construction industry. The first book of the series is titled, Me and Green, and will be available this year.

Congratulations on your accomplishments, Mary! If you would like to recognize Mary, along with other small business leaders in Jacksonville, you can attend the 17th Annual Small Business Week & Lender Awards celebration at the University of North Florida from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on April 30. More information is available at www.sbdc.unf.edu.