Small biz winners: six Indiana companies receive state small business administration accolades.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: Cover Story

PRIYA WHARTON, OWNER and president of Tri Star Engineering in Bedford, is Indiana's 2004 Small Business Person of the Year, as chosen by the Indiana office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Celebrating small businesses across the state that have survived and thrived thanks to hard work and a creative spirit has been an annual tradition for the Indiana SBA. The following small businesses and business people will be honored during Indiana's Small Business Week, June 6-12.

SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR Priya Wharton, Tri Star Engineering, Bedford

Priya Wharton switched from working for the Army to the Navy when she moved from Michigan to Indiana in 1982 to work for Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. After 15 years as a civil service engineer working on combat and communications systems, she decided to form her own company in 1995, Tri Star Engineering in Bedford, and become a contractor and subcontractor for the Navy.

Today, Tri Star employs 140 people, 67 in Indiana and the rest where major naval operations are housed, including San Diego; Washington, D.C.; and Hampton, Virginia. "We have some people in Iraq," says Wharton, who adds that their jobs and their where abouts are classified. "As a small company, we really are making a difference."

The company designs and provides technical and engineering services in radar systems, night vision, electronic warfare and satellite communications installed on ships. This newest award comes after receiving the Blue Chip Enterprise Award and the Indiana Growth 100 award.

Tri Star got off to a good start with an SBA line of credit, says Wharton, but it really took off when she applied for and received an SBA 8(a) certification lot minority and woman-owned businesses in 1997, making it easier to get federal contracts. She's a firm believer that the government needs to do more to help small businesses succeed and give them a lair share of government business. Sales last year totaled $12.7 million,

A native of India, Wharton serves on Indiana's Minority and Women Business Development Commission. "We're trying to make a difference. The state has so much to learn," she says. She thinks the state should require that 20 to 30 percent of its work go to small businesses. "The state should impose it on the prime contractors."

Working for the Navy, Wharton says she often hears the comment: "There's not a lot of water in Indiana." "I say, 'Hey, a lot of good things come out of the Midwest.'" But her...