Honoring Maria Frizelle Roberts on the occasion of her being named Eastern Pennsylvania Small Business Person of the Year by the Philadelphia District of the Small Business Administration.

WHEREAS, Maria Frizelle Roberts, RN, MPH, is an accomplished business executive and strategist. She is the President & Chief Executive Officer of MFR Consultants, Inc. (MFR), a local business located in the Old City section of Philadelphia. The firm was created in 1989 and has grown over the past 24 years from a single-proprietorship to a corporation with a staff of almost 50 full-time professionals, operating in 14 states; and

WHEREAS, In 1989, Roberts started MFR in her apartment living room in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia. In her first year, Roberts brought in less than $40,000. Today, as President and CEO of MFR, she can proudly say that the company employs nearly 50 employees and operates in more than a dozen cities across the country out of its Old City headquarters; and

WHEREAS, Building MFR into a reputable company was not easy. However, Roberts says her biggest cheerleaders were her parents who taught her that she could do anything. Armed with this belief, Roberts sought out and benefited from an SBA funded guaranteed loan in the amount of $100,000 through Citizens Bank in July 2005. One year later, in 2006, MFR received recognition as the Firm of the Year from the Minority Business Enterprise Development Center of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Due to her tremendous success, the Philadelphia District of the Small Business Administration named Roberts the 2014 Small Business Person of the Year; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby honors Maria Frizelle Roberts on the occasion of her being named Eastern Pennsylvania Small Business Person of the Year by the Philadelphia District of the Small Business Administration.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Maria Frizelle Roberts as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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