Friends, clients and partners gathered at the Tulsa Country Club to honor TEDC’s annual award winners, including Dental Directions Inc., which was named Small Business of the Year.

The company is the parent of Community Care College, Clary Sage College and Oklahoma Technical College, all of which are located not far from each other on campuses situated between 31st and 45th streets on Sheridan Road.

“Obviously, it means a lot to us; it means a lot to my team,” said Teresa Knox, founder and CEO of Community Care College. “We’re not subsidized by tax dollars like the public education system, so our partnership with TEDC is really important to secure financing and create jobs for our community, and so it just means that our hard work is paying off.”

Community Care College, the cornerstone of the triumvirate, was founded in 1995 to train medical assistants and other health care personnel.

Knox worked closely with TEDC in packaging the deal that enabled the school in 2003 to buy the former Quik- Trip Corp. office at 4242 S. Sheridan Road, where Community Care College is located today.

Not only did TEDC provide assistance with the down payment, but it also helped align the loan application with the Small Business Administration to make it more attractive to lenders, Knox said.

In 2007, Clary Sage College opened at 3131 S. Sheridan to offer programs in the cosmetology, spa, massage, esthetics and nail technology fields. That branch, in turn, was followed with the opening last March of Oklahoma Technical College at 4444 S. Sheridan to offer various certificate, diploma and associate degree programs in the technical professions of automotive, diesel and welding.

In selecting this year’s winners, TEDC looked at its portfolio of businesses and considered the ease of servicing their loans, as well as their revenue and employee growth, said Rose Washington Rentie, executive director of TEDC.

Community Care College and its branch campuses employ 160 people. Revenue for the parent company has grown from $4.5 million in 2006 to $8.9 million last year, Washington Rentie said.

People are focused on Wall Street indexes when it comes to measuring consumer confidence, but small businesses are the backbone of communities, Washington Rentie said.

“They’re the ones keeping this engine turning,” she said. “If you look at smaller communities, many of them have not seen an S&P 500 company, but they see mom-and-pop businesses surviving and thriving and delivering the goods and services that people need and want.”

NorthStar Technologies LLC was recognized as Business Achiever of the Year. “It’s a great honor,” said Charlie Pilkington, managing partner of NorthStar. “We really felt humbled in getting that because there are a lot of really good companies affiliated with TEDC.

“I think everybody across the board is feeling the pinch, and we know it’s hard out there with unemployment. So to receive that honor and know that we’re making money in a down economy says a lot, I think, for how we operate.”

When NorthStar Technologies started in 2002, it employed Pilkington and one other person. Today, the agency provides livelihoods to 22 people and handles debt recovery for financial institutions, medical institutions and box retailers.

TEDC’s Partner of the Year award went to Security Bank.

TEDC helps startups and other small businesses with nontraditional lending programs. Over five years, TEDC has funded or secured funding for nearly 300 loan proposals totaling more than $166 million. These projects impacted more than 3,500 jobs, TEDC officials said.

Through TEDC, small businesses can access funds ranging from $5,000 to $4 million. The organization lends directly, works as an intermediary to arrange supplemental funding and serves as a loan facilitator for financial institutions seeking government guaranties. Most capital for direct loans is provided through partnerships with the city of Tulsa and the U.S. Small Business Administration.