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It's been an award-winning year for Lisa Kazor, president and CEO of Rockville consulting company Savantage Solutions, which won a 2009 Small Business of the Year award Friday from the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

The awards program is designed to recognize the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by small businesses in Maryland, according to chamber information.

"Small businesses are the backbone of Maryland's economy, and Savantage is honored to be recognized as one of its leaders by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce," Kazor said in a statement. "The dedication and hard work of our employees and their contributions to the success and growth of Savantage made this award possible."

Savantage won in the category of 51 to 200 employees, the largest of three categories.

Last month, Kazor was named one of the 98 recipients of the 2009 National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations' Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

The coalition's mission is to "honor America's diverse past, to advocate for positive change in the present, and to build strong leaders for the future" and the medals pay tribute to the ancestral groups that constitute the country's "unique cultural mosaic," according to information from the group. The medals are presented on Ellis Island in New York City.

Savantage Solutions provides a range of consulting, integration, technology and support systems and services to federal agencies. It is one of only five vendors of financial management systems certified for federal use by the Office of Management and Budget's Financial Systems Integration Office, according to Savantage information.

Other winners of the Maryland chamber awards announced Friday were Global Design Interactive, a marketing communications company in Owings Mills, in the one- to 10-employee category; and Savage River Lodge, a resort in Frostburg, in the 11- to 50-employee category.