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SBA Honors Henry L. Coaxum Jr. for Outstanding Disaster Recovery
Effort
 WASHINGTON
- Henry L. Coaxum Jr., owner of Coaxum Enterprises, Inc.
lost three of his New Orleans area McDonald's restaurants, an
office complex, and his own home to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
The care, concern and innovation that Coaxum displayed in getting his
employees back to work in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in
U.S. history, and his tireless devotion to the rebuilding of New
Orleans' business sector has earned him the 2008 Phoenix Award for Small
Business Disaster Recovery.
The award will be presented during the U.S. Small Business
Administration's (SBA) National Small Business Week 2008, to be held in
Washington, D.C and New York City April 21-25.
"The Phoenix Award is an acknowledgment of an individual's heroic effort
and a recognition of contributions to the physical and economic recovery
of their communities," said SBA Administrator Steve Preston. "Mr. Coaxum
displayed tremendous courage and resourcefulness in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina, and he exemplifies the spirit one must have to
rebuild after a tragedy like this."
Although three of Coaxum's original restaurants were damaged and closed
due to Hurricane Katrina, he recently bought and opened a restaurant on
St. Charles Avenue in February 2006 - just in time for the 150th Mardi
Gras celebration. This was the first McDonald's restaurant to reopen in
New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River.
This marks the 10th year the SBA has given Phoenix Awards to business
owners, public officials and volunteers who displayed courage, ingenuity
and tenacity in the aftermath of a disaster, while contributing to the
rebuilding of their communities.
The SBA makes low-interest, taxpayer-backed disaster loans to
homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes. Following the 2005
Gulf Coast hurricanes, the SBA has approved more than $10.9 billion in
disaster loans to more than 160,000 hurricane survivors, the largest
response in the agency 55-year history. To find out more about the SBA's
disaster assistance program, visit the Web site at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/.
For more information about National Small Business Week, visit
www.sba.gov/sbw.
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