PRESS RELEASE – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2022 Idaho Woman-Owned Business of the Year is Verdis, President Sandy Young.
Sandy Young and her husband, Gary, launched a landscape architecture and land use planning firm in 2007 from a building basement with just one employee. As the company grew, they expanded their services to include civil engineering and masonry restoration and grew their team to 38 employees consisting of engineers, draftsmen, landscape architects, planners, constructions superintendents, masons, and laborers.
Verdis, a certified woman-owned business, joined SBA’s 8(a) contracting program in 2016 to further expand the services they offered and to branch out into new territories. The 8(a) program is a business development program which provides business training, counseling, and technical assistance to small businesses accepted into the program. SBA partners with federal agencies to promote maximum utilization of 8(a) program participants to ensure equitable access to contracting opportunities in the federal marketplace; once certified, 8(a) program participants are eligible to receive federal contracting preferences.
Verdis is currently operating in 14 states and has been awarded over 150 state and federal projects.
“I was determined to create a company where every employee has the opportunity come into a collaborative environment that fosters planning, engineering and construction problem solving with creativity and confidence. Their dedication and performance has been exemplary, and I am continually inspired by every single one of them,” Sandy explained. “I strive to collaborate with the best subconsultants/subcontractors in the industry, thus supporting the entire small business
network. Through the SBA’s SCORE and 8(a) programs, I have been able to achieve my goals.”
Verdis has been an asset to Idaho with increasing sales performance and job creation.
Boise Deputy District Director, Shannon Madsen, also recognizes Sandy’s achievements as a woman-owned business, “Woman-owned businesses have a tremendous impact on Idaho’s economy with the state being third in the nation for growth in the number of firms and growth in employment and revenue for women-owned businesses. Sandy exemplifies this entrepreneurial spirit with her resiliency and innovativeness and is a tremendous asset to the state of Idaho.”