Mississippi Small Business Person of the Year Charles Fuqua Jr ...

MOSS POINT, Mississippi - Charles E. Fuqua Jr. of Moss Point has a work ethic that has garnered him state and national recognition.

He was recently named Mississippi Small Business Person of the Year. He and his wife, Deanna, made their first trip to Washington, D.C., last week to attend the National Small Business Week Conference. He was honored at an awards ceremony, as well as winners from the other states.

"It was a humbling and great experience. We had the opportunity to stay in a beautiful facility, receive a lot of training and hear great speakers," Fuqua said.

He is the owner and operator of Four Seasons Lawn Care LLC in Pascagoula, a full- service lawn care business that provides maintenance to residential and commercial properties from Gulfport to Mobile.

Fuqua is the seventh consecutive generation in his family to be self-employed. Originally he was employed as a factory trained automotive technician for Ford Motor Co., when he borrowed his mother's lawn mower to earn some pocket change.

The demand for his side business grew. In 2005, two months before Hurricane Katrina, he started his own company, Four Seasons Lawn Care.

"We live in northern Moss Point, and the house got hit by a tornado during the hurricane, causing close to 50 percent damage," Fuqua said.

The family lived in a hotel room for seven months while rebuilding their home and getting the business off the ground.

"There was very little demand for cutting grass when people were rebuilding. We helped them get their lives back to normal, removing debris, cleaning up yards and tearing down old sheds," he said.

Once the Fuquas returned to their rebuilt home, the business started to grow. He added installation of sprinkler systems, landscape design and full service landscaping.

While Fuqua was operating his business, coaching his children's soccer teams, volunteering in the community and at Lilly Orchard Baptist Church, he also was a full time student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

He graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average with a degree in horticulture.

"That was a higher grade-point average than I had in high school," Fuqua said.

In March, he expanded and opened Four Seasons Garden Center at 4905 Chicot St. in Pascagoula. His company is now able to offer retail garden goods sales as well as the lawn maintenance service.

Four Seasons Lawn Care has grown into a full-service landscaping business with an average growth of 75 percent annually, 19 employees and annual revenues of about $500,000.

Fuqua has received assistance from the University of Mississippi's Small Business Development Center in Moss Point, and he is a tenant of the Jackson County Small Business Incubator in Moss Point.

It was the incubator's director, Janice Mabry, who nominated Fuqua for Small Business Person of the Year. She described him as a sponge, able to efficiently determine which advice was valuable and appropriate for the betterment of his company.

"He represents small business owners in the best possible way," Mabry said.

While he has not received a loan from the Small Business Administration, Fuqua said he has used its business counseling services.

"It's critical that business owners be aware of where they are with their growth. The SBA can provide help," said Jorge Silva-Puras, regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Fuqua said at the conference, he enjoyed meeting fellow small business owners "who have a passion for their particular businesses."

duggar miscarriage roman holiday belize adele lyrics bruno mars best new artist 2012 grammys