Renee Schofield: Alaska Small Business Person of the Year 2015: Rural Ketchikan entrepreneur honored by Small Business Administration.

AuthorKlouda, Naomi
PositionSMALL BUSINESS

Renee Schofield, the owner of Tongass Substance Safety, Inc. (TSS), will be honored as the SBA Alaska 2015 Small Business Person of the Year on May 7 in Ketchikan and again in Washington, DC this June.

Schofield is credited for savvy sense that made a small town business grow regionally by helping businesses respond to a complicated market need: the mandated drug testing and safety certification requirements regulated through the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. Ketchikan's status as a major commercial fishing, ship building, and aviation hub meant assisting employers and license-holders to meet federal and state requirements.

Schofield's award marks the first time since 1990 a person from Ketchikan was selected for the Small Business Person of the Year recognition in Alaska. US Small Business Administration Northern Area Manager Scott Swingle says the SBA feels particularly pleased to honor a rural business, which in Alaska means overcoming a lot of hurdles to compete and win against more advantaged companies doing business in the state's urban centers.

Winner is Humbled

"This is very humbling," Schofield says. "There are so many good businesses in Alaska. Southeast has a culture of supporting people. It's neat to be recognized on a state level, where there are so many deserving businesses. But I didn't get here on my own. Once you're clear on your vision, there are so many willing to help you get there."

TSS operates in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Craig and opened offices in Keokuk, Iowa; Quincy, Illinois; and Hannibal, Missouri. For the past sixteen years, TSS has provided services in occupational health and safety. TSS specializes in Department of Transportation drug screening but also provides services for employers such as background screening, health fairs, paternity testing, life-saving CPR/ FA, and multiple training offerings to inspire employee motivation.

The company employs thirteen people in its six locations. Schofield travels among them on a regular basis for support and client interaction. She also conducts training in drug screening and collector training of the Certified Professional Collector Program-Drug through the Alcohol Testing Industry Association. She also is now a practicing life coach.

How Schofield evolved the business comes as an unexpected story of a woman's innovation and foresight.

Learning a Whole New Field

Though she had lived in Ketchikan previously, where her husband was raised, the couple lived in Iowa for several years while Schofield ran an entirely different kind of business. She owned and operated a newspaper called "The Farm Hand," serving an Iowa agricultural county. Information provided in its pages was meant to serve the farmer and non-farmer alike, she says.

In 1997, the...

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