Seven Local Businesses Honored as 2025 Crowns of Enterprise Winners

On Thursday, Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte named seven local businesses as winners of the 2025 Crowns of Enterprise Awards. The awards honor small businesses that demonstrate leadership, practice sound business strategies, strengthen the local economy and support diversity and inclusion.  

2025 marks the 14th year of the Crowns of Enterprise Awards. The awards are presented annually by the Mecklenburg County Office of Economic Development’s Business Diversity and Inclusion division, and the City of Charlotte’s Charlotte Business INClusion program.  

Certified Minority Business Enterprise of the Year: Velez Strategies  

This award is presented to a minority-owned business certified by the State of North Carolina’s Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses that demonstrates sound business strategies while driving economic development in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

Velez Strategies is a bilingual consulting firm that empowers small businesses, nonprofits and government agencies to achieve sustainable growth and measurable impact. The firm specializes in strategic planning, business coaching, community engagement and operational support. It offers services in both English and Spanish to break barriers and to help businesses access capital, secure certifications and compete for contracts.

Founder Lissette Velez established the firm in 2022. With more than 13 years of experience, Velez has supported more than 5,000 businesses.   

Certified Woman Business Enterprise of the Year: Lane Architecture

This award is presented to a woman-owned business that is certified by the State of North Carolina’s Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses, and that demonstrates sound business strategies while driving economic development in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

Lane Architecture is an architectural firm that provides services from initial planning, through the design and construction process, to client occupancy. The firm is focused on the public sector, where building projects make a difference. Lane Architecture’s diverse portfolio includes higher education projects, community support and workplace buildings.  

Barbara Lane founded the firm in 2013. She is known for her passion for design and ensuring that projects meet her clients’ objectives. 

Certified Small Business Enterprise of the Year: Carolina Transportation Engineers & Associates

This award is presented to a small business that is certified by Charlotte Business INClusion and that demonstrates sound business strategies while driving economic development in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

Carolina Transportation Engineers & Associates (Carolina TEA) is a multidisciplined engineering firm focused on innovation, quality and client service. The firm provides project management, design and inspection services for bridge, roadway and rail projects, which enhance the region's livability and attractiveness and create a foundation for sustained economic growth. Carolina TEA teams up with diverse businesses on its contracts and helps other firms become qualified for contracts with departments of transportation.  

Carolina TEA was incorporated in Charlotte in August 2016 and currently has 22 staff members in five offices.  

Prime Contractor of the Year: Genesis Construction

This award is presented to a prime contractor that demonstrates exemplary leadership while embracing and engaging in diversity initiatives and efforts.

From conceptual design to completion, Genesis Construction prioritizes collaboration and customer service to support clients as they build and renovate properties. The firm also ensures equitable opportunities within its workforce and supply chain, and contributes to a diverse ecosystem in the construction sector by building strong partnerships with minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

Owner Jefferson Ovalle leads by example, including individuals from all backgrounds in his team and projects. Ovalle identifies and dismantles barriers in the workplace to ensure that opportunities are available to all. 

Media Personality/Media Outlet of the Year: The Charlotte Ledger

This award is presented to an individual or organization who provides outstanding community engagement and exemplary coverage in support of the minority, women, and small business community in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned news organization that connects the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community through five e-newsletters, a website and a podcast. Covering local business, transit and transportation, human interest stories and more, the mission of the Charlotte Ledger is to deliver smart and essential news to Charlotte, one email at a time. The editorial team embraces and engages in diversity by creating connections with its listeners and representing the community.

The Charlotte Ledger is headed by two long-term Charlotte reporters, founder and executive editor Tony Mecia and managing editor Christina Bolling, who know and understand the region because they have lived, worked and raised families here.  

Diversity Advocate of the Year: Prospera North Carolina

This award is presented to an individual or organization that champions diversity and inclusion practices, ideas, and strategies to increase the overall participation of minority, women and small business enterprises in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.

Prospera is a leading nonprofit economic development organization specializing in bilingual business development services for low-to-moderate income Hispanic entrepreneurs. It offers free in-language business seminars, individual consulting, business grants, and support for accessing capital. Its mission is to help start, sustain, and grow Hispanic-owned businesses to achieve community prosperity.

In 2017, after supporting Hispanic entrepreneurs for decades in Florida, Prospera expanded its successful model to Charlotte. Between 2017 and the end of 2024, Prospera grew from one local office to a statewide operation with two offices (Charlotte and Raleigh), and more than 1,000 program beneficiaries per year, on average.  

Rising Star: Savvi Consulting

The Rising Star is awarded when a business truly has set itself apart through its diversity initiatives, exceptional business practices and signs of promising growth. Most importantly, the Rising Star’s positive reputation and popularity is due to putting their customers first while providing exceptional products or services.

Savvi Consulting’s mission is to deliver human-focused change management services. By emphasizing people as an organization’s primary competitive advantage, the boutique consulting firm helps leaders enhance performance, customer service and levels of employee engagement. Its services range from assessments and leadership development, to process improvement, compliance enhancement, and leveraging technology for data automation and digitization.  

With more than 20 years of corporate experience, founder and president LaShana M. Wiggs established Savvi Consulting in 2022. Wiggs has honed her expertise in transforming business strategies and operations for Fortune 100 companies.