President George W. Bush praised America's small business owners and employees by proclaiming the week of April 22-28 as a time to recognize "their important role in ensuring that America remains the economic leader of the world." He issued the proclamation on the eve of the U.S. Small Business Administration's observance of National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C. (April 23-24), which honors the nation's most outstanding entrepreneurs and culminates with the selection of the National Small Business Person of the Year for 2007 from among the 53 state small business winners, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The full text of the President's National Small Business Week proclamation can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070419-6.html.

Source: AMERICAN MACHINIST and WhiteHouse.gov, April 19.