{"id":330068,"date":"2020-09-18T06:05:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T20:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=330068"},"modified":"2020-09-18T06:05:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T20:05:12","slug":"mendiola-long-named-sba-phoenix-award-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/mendiola-long-named-sba-phoenix-award-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Mendiola-Long named SBA Phoenix Award Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"

CNMI businessman and Board of Education member Phillip Thomas Mendiola-Long was named yesterday as one of three persons recognized as this year\u2019s Phoenix Award Champions by the U.S. Small Business Administration.<\/p>\n

Mendiola-Long was chosen as the recipient of the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Volunteer, for disregarding his personal losses to ensure the island\u2019s recovery in the aftermath of\u00a0Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018.<\/p>\n

In addition to Mendiola-Long, this year\u2019s other SBA award recipients are Albert Terry Bourque Jr. and Hope Bourque of TLR Homes Vidor in Texas, who rebounded after massive inventory losses from Hurricane Harvey. They are being presented the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Small Business Disaster Recovery. <\/p>\n

Deborah A. Lieberman, a Montgomery County Commissioner in Dayton, Ohio, who swiftly responded to the area\u2019s needs following a tornado, is being honored with the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Public Official.<\/p>\n

SBA announced the\u00a02020 National Small Business Week\u00a0Phoenix Award winners for their outstanding and inspiring resilience in the aftermath of devastating disasters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The virtual National Small Business Week event, rescheduled from May due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held on Sept. 22-24. This year\u2019s National Small Business Week activities will include numerous\u202feducational panels\u202fproviding retooling and innovative practices for entrepreneurs as our\u202fnation\u2019s small businesses look to pivot and recover toward\u202fa stronger economy.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

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Phillip Thomas Mendiola-Long<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 1998, the SBA has presented Phoenix Awards to business owners, public officials, and volunteers who displayed selflessness, ingenuity and tenacity in the aftermath of a disaster, while contributing to the rebuilding of their communities.<\/p>\n

In explaining its choice of Mendiola-Long, SBA said that Super Typhoon Yutu hit Tinian on Oct. 24, 2018, with the storm\u2019s 180 mile-per-hour winds severely damaging Mendiola-Long\u2019s gas station, one of only two on the island.\u00a0The storm destroyed more than 3,000 homes, and Mendiola-Long\u2019s residence suffered extensive damages.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite his losses, [Mendiola-Long] decided to share his remaining resources to support the island\u2019s recovery. He returned to the gas station to find that the winds had ripped out the only two gas pumps from their foundations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin 24 hours, [Mendiola-Long] and his staff had scavenged the island, found a hand pump, and built an extension line into the underground gas tank. The team could now begin pumping fuel for first responders, law enforcement officials, and city agencies involved in the recovery effort. He also organized a volunteer effort to distribute generators donated by a local charity to disaster survivors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Mendiola-Long] reached out to Guam business contacts and gathered food, water, tents, first-aid kits, and other survival necessities for the disaster survivors. He used his office as a supply distribution center that stayed open from 8am to 5pm daily. [Mendiola-Long] drove to Tinian\u2019s hardest-hit areas, personally delivering relief goods to those in desperate need.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing social media, [Mendiola-Long] reached out to business contacts, family, and friends in Hawaii, Guam, Nevada, and Texas and asked for donations. His efforts netted 20 boxes of supplies and $15,000 in cash for the beleaguered island residents,\u201d the SBA statement said. (Saipan Tribune)
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