SBA Recognizes the Office of Surety Guarantees Award Winners

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recognizes the Office of Surety Guarantees award winners for their continued work to help small contracting businesses acquire surety bonds.

Three SBA surety bond partners were selected to receive awards based on their participation, activity, claims and recovery, and their commitment to helping small businesses obtain contracts with both government and private sector entities.

Crum & Forster was recognized as Surety of the Year. The Surety Place and Kenneth Turner of KOG International, Inc. were honored as Surety Agency of the Year and Surety Agent of the Year, respectively.

"The success of the Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Program is a direct result of our great relationship with the surety industry.  The awards are an important way to recognize and thank our partners for helping small and emerging businesses requiring surety credit in the marketplace," said Peter C. Gibbs, Director for the Office of Surety Guarantees.

Surety of the Year award recipient, Crum & Forster, has been a participant in the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Prior Approval program since 2017. Despite their short time as an SBA partner surety company, Crum & Forster has grown their activity by over 4,000% and has assisted over 100 small and emerging businesses in partnership with SBA. Crum & Forster has a history of focusing on the needs of its clients and has been providing bonding solutions since 1900 and insurance since 1822.

Surety Agency of the Year, Surety Placement Services, LLC dba The Surety Place, is a bond only agency in Scottsdale, Arizona.  They have been working with the SBA since 2010 providing bonds in all 50 states. Founded in 2002, The Surety Place provides tailored bonding solutions through knowledgeable staff with over 45 years of combined surety experience.

The Surety Agent of the Year, Kenneth C. Turner of KOG International, Inc., has been active in the surety industry since 1996.  He has developed an extensive network of surety industry contacts and with years of expertise brings these resources together to better serve his clients.  Turner placed his first client in the SBA's SBG Program in 2003 and continues to actively promote SBA-backed surety bonds to numerous small businesses today.

The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program has 36 surety partners, 350 active authorized agents nationwide and guaranteed more than 10,000 bonds with a contract value of over $6 billion in fiscal year 2018. More information about the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program is available at www.sba.gov. Questions from surety companies may be directed to Peter C. Gibbs, Director of the Office of Surety Guarantees, at peter.gibbs@sba.gov.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality.  As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster.  It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Contact: Shannon.giles@sba.gov
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Release Number:  19-29

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration