Members of the Sonny Brown Business Award (SBBA) Committee, from left, Chairman Mike Lippiatt, Donnie Torres and Richard Matteson and Rotary Club President Linda Hull, right, present a $250 check to Pet Pangaea owner Cindi Wells at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos Tuesday. The local pet store is the winner of this year’s SBBA award. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com

Every other year, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos Club honors one local non-Rotarian business that exemplifies the high ethical standards of Rotary.

This year, the Club’s SBBA Committee, chaired by Mike Lippiatt, interviewed several local businesses.

Following the guidelines presented by District 5520, the committee, which included Donnie Torres and Richard Matteson, selected Pet Pangaea, the community’s local pet supplies and services business, as this year’s recipient of the Sonny Brown Small Business Award.

Owner Cyndi Wells accepted the award and a check for $250 at the Rotary Club meeting Tuesday at the Dixie Girl Restaurant.

It was also announced yesterday that District 5520, which includes the all 71 Rotary Clubs in New Mexico and west Texas, has selected Pet Pangaea as the recipient of the District’s Sonny Brown Small Business the Year Award.

Cyndi Wells and Pet Pangaea will be honored with this recognition in Las Cruces May 4 at the District 5520 annual convention.

In 2005, Rotary’s Centennial Year, the Sonny Brown Business Award (SBBA) was established to honor Sonny Brown of El Paso, Rotary District 5520’s past governor, for his many years of service to Rotary International and District 5520 and for his outstanding leadership skills and on-going support.

The award is given to small, medium, or large businesses based upon the number of employees.

The business must demonstrate excellence in the following areas: employee relations; quality of product and/or service representation; community involvement by both management and employees.