Dixon and Thomasville Lumber win SBA award
By Arthur McLean Editor

PHOTO BY CABLE RISDON PHOTOGRAPHY Steven C. Preston, SBA administrator, and Jevita Carranza, deputy administrator of the SBA present James Dixon (center) with the SBA small business person of the year award for Alabama. The award was presented at a banquet in Washington, D.C. last week.

They might just have to make a trophy case out of southern yellow pine at Thomasville Lumber if the awards keep rolling in.

Last week in Washington, D.C. James Dixon, president of Thomasville Lumber was named Alabama's small business person of the year by the Small Business Administration.

This award comes on the heels of Thomasville Lumber being named one of Alabama's top exporters at a ceremony in Montgomery.

It's a long way from the deserted operation gutted by a fire in 2001. The company that exports southern yellow pine around the world now boasts sales of $11 million and payroll of more than $2 million.

"It's the employees that make it happen," Dixon said. "We found a niche and we've managed to excel at what we do."

While Dixon would rather keep a low profile for himself and his company, he says he's appreciative of the recognition for his employees, primarily. "It's for them, really."

Dixon was impressed with the small business owners represented at the event last week. "They were a real cross-section of the country, but they all had something in common; they had an idea and were willing to work very hard to make it."

The award winners in Alaska, for example, mortgaged their retirement savings and wound up living in their warehouse for a year and a half to get their aviation business going.

That's an example of the passion entrepreneurs have to have, Dixon said. "It's a lifestyle. They say small business owners put in $10 of sweat equity for every dollar of actual investment."

But small business is the backbone of the country, and Dixon sees it becoming an ever larger part of the economic landscape. "These big projects like the steel mill are getting fewer and fewer," he said. "Small businesses are going to be the standard."

While many factors go into running a successful small business, Dixon said there are some keys. "You have to believe in what you're doing and you have to have confidence that it will work. You have to have a good bank behind you, because the bank essentially becomes your partner. You have to be willing to take the risk."

For Dixon and his employees, the risk of rebuilding a damaged lumber operation has paid off.

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