From Oregon Small Business Administration,
Manuel Castaneda , president of Pro Landscape,Inc., is the Oregon Minority Small Business Person of the Year for 2008 announced SBA Portland District Director Harry DeWolf. The award was presented at the Minority Business Opportunity Committee’s (MBOC) Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week awards luncheon on Wednesday, October 1, 2008, at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Portland, Oregon.
“The SBA takes great pride in honoring Manuel Castaneda. I commend him for taking Pro Landscape from its humble beginning of a single service ground maintenance company to a full service exterior landscape design, installation, maintenance, and management company for residential, commercial, and government customers. Manuel’s innovation, vision, and perseverance in pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams are a model for others to follow,” said SBA Portland District Director Harry DeWolf. “He creates an environment in which the spirit of entrepreneurship can flourish.”
Pro Landscape, Inc. is a full service landscape design, building and maintenance company. Founded in 1986 by Manuel Castaneda, he has been serving the residential, commercial and public sectors of the greater metropolitan Portland area, and beyond. Pro Landscape specializes in unique water features, irrigation/sprinkler systems, and all types of walls, drainage systems, lawn installation, as well as fences, decks, patios, paths, decorative boulders, steps and more. The company also provides hillside stabilization, landslide remediation and pin pile driving. In 1999, Pro Landscape, Inc. was ranked number 22 in the list of fastest growing Hispanic-owned businesses, throughout the U.S., according to Hispanic Magazine. It has also made the list of the 100 fastest growing privately owned businesses in the state of Oregon, for three out of the last four years in The Portland Business Journal.
“We are celebrating the talented individuals who provide innovative products and services to the private, federal and commercial sectors as well as create jobs in their communities and stimulate the nation’s economy,” said SBA Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza. “We already know that small businesses share an entrepreneurial and competitive spirit. During this year’s MED Week event, we’re going to help minority businesses channel that spirit into business opportunities in the global markets.”
Held annually since 1983, MED Week recognizes minority businesses’ contributions to the nation’s economy. In this year’s proclamation, President George W. Bush urged all Americans to join together in honoring minority entrepreneurs across the country in appropriate observances.
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