Dan LeVan with Energy3 is photographed in their offices Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.The owner of a Chattanooga company has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2017 Tennessee Small Business Person of the Year.
Dan LeVan, chief executive of Energy3 (Energy, Efficiency and Sustainability Consulting), was cited by the SBA for "hard work, innovative ideas and dedication to your employees and community "
LeVan and other state winners around the nation will be recognized on April 1 and May 30 at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Energy3 provides technology solutions to reduce energy loads, production of on-site energy and sustainable management for primarily commercial and industrial businesses.
LeVan, whose business is located in Chattanooga's small business incubator, was president or financial head of four global companies before he took over Energy3 in 2014.
"Without the INCubator and support from the Tennessee Small Business Development Center as a start-up, we wouldn't have the level of success that we do today," he said recently.
Charles Wood, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of economic development, said Energy3 is "a perfect example of the kind of company that the chamber INCubator program nurtures."
In addition to working with companies, Energy3 also is eyeing underserved municipalities in rural Tennessee and Georgia.