The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday that Henry Sanders, CEO of 365Nation, has received the Chamber’s 2024 Ground Floor Award for Small Business Leadership.
The award recognizes true champions for small business who are leaders in their business and in the community. Previous recipients include Jim Garner of Sergenian’s Floor Coverings, Susan Bulgrin of Culver’s on Todd Drive and Echo Tap & Grill, Jeff “JP” Patterson of JP Hair Design, Mark Schmitz of ZEBRADOG, Eugenia Podestá of Synergy Coworking and Carol “Orange” Schroeder of Orange Tree Imports.
“For more than two decades, I have had a front-row seat to Henry’s commitment and dedication to the betterment of Greater Madison and its businesses,” Chamber President Zach Brandon said in a statement. “We met through politics, but we bonded over business. I am proud to call Henry a friend and to honor him with this well-earned and well-deserved award.”
For more than 20 years, Sanders has been a force for community development, economic development and entrepreneurship in Greater Madison, Wisconsin and the Midwest. He worked for the City of Madison and then-Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin before joining the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce as Vice President. In that capacity, he started the Small Business Advisory Council, Latino Chamber of Commerce and African American Black Business Association. He founded the young professionals organization Madison Area Growth Network (MAGNET), Madison Network of Black Professionals and Capacity 360, a government relations firm that brought more than $15 million to Wisconsin businesses.
In 2011, Sanders joined the Obama Administration as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Region V Advocate, speaking up for small businesses across six states. He is a recipient of In Business Magazine’s Startup Company Executive of the Year award, was given the Amigo Award by La Movida Radio and was named Outstanding Experiential Learning Host by the Madison Metropolitan School District for allowing students to attend the Wisconsin Leadership Summit.
“I am deeply grateful to the Chamber for this recognition. For me, it’s always been about serving the community first,” Sanders said in a statement. “We started Madison365 almost nine years ago with the mission to amplify voices from the community, and we started Blueprint365 last year to amplify the small businesses, executives and leaders doing the work every day. In both cases, we saw a need and filled it, and that’s almost always where successful small businesses start. And, like many other small businesses, we couldn’t have made it this far without the support of that same community.”
