Taken from the Hampton Roads Chamber post by Kindra Greene on May 4, 2018:  The Hampton Roads Chamber 2018 Small Business of the Year is SimIS, Inc. of Portsmouth. “What the city of Portsmouth has done for me, I can’t repay, but what I can do is create hundreds of jobs in modeling and simulation in Portsmouth,” said Dr. Johnny Garcia, CEO and founder of SimIS. He also urged his fellow nominees and the business leaders in the room to consider diversification in their hiring practices. “My organization works with underserved youth, because I was an underserved youth working on a cotton field in Texas at age eleven. I implore you, the leaders of Hampton Roads to help women and minority owned businesses and to take care of our veterans.”

Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe and Congressmen Bobby Scott was present as the award for the Portsmouth city winner went to SimIS. The Judges commented on SimIS, Inc.’s positive impact on the city of Portsmouth and how they are putting the city on the map with groundbreaking technology.

This celebratory event is a chance for the Hampton Roads Chamber to see their vision of being an Inspiring Ignitor, Powerful Economic Partner and Impactful Advocate embodied in the small business community. This is the heart of the Hampton Roads Chamber’s core mission. The Chamber and the Small Business Development Center work to promote and support small businesses and the opportunity to celebrate the success and achievement of our region’s small businesses is a point of pride.