Chamber Small Business Award winner selected

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2023 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce this afternoon unveiled the winner of its 2023 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.

Kare Health & Wellness LLC, a functional medicine business from owner and founder Keri Sutton, took home the top honor during a ceremony at Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, according to a news release.

“Keri Sutton’s small-business story is incredibly inspiring,” chamber President Matt Morrow said in the release. “By continuing to apply everything she learned on her journey to establishing Kare Health & Wellness, she and her team have built a strong and sustainable model to provide patient-centered functional medicine.”

Sutton's search for answers to her own health issues resulted in the creation of the functional medicine business. The company, which launched in 2011, has 29 employees and provides functional medicine and nutritional services, intravenous therapy, diagnostic testing, integrative women's health and nonsurgical pain management, according to past reporting.

The Small Business Award finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
• Bug Zero, a pest treatment business founded by owner and CEO Ivan Eftink in 1990.
• Grooms Office Environments, a 46-year-old commercial furniture business co-owned by Audrey and Jonathan Garard.
• Jordan Essentials, a bath and body products manufacturer founded in 2000 by Nancy Bogart.
• Revel Advertising, a Springfield market agency founded in 2010 by Nicole and Chris Jarratt.

Last year, Cabinet Concepts by Design won the chamber's Small Business Award, according to past reporting. Finalists are selected based on written applications that include essays on company history, management philosophy, responses to challenges, innovation in product and service offerings, and contributions to the community, according to a news release. An independent panel of judges scores the entries.