Small Business Office wins Air Force Innovation Award Published April 11, 2025 By Amy Schiess Air Force Sustainment Center Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Air Force Sustainment Center Small Business Office and the AFSC Small Business Innovation Research Program is the recipient of the Air Force Small Business Innovation Award for fiscal year 2024, thanks to the team’s focus on connecting innovative businesses with AFSC organizations who can use their expertise. “It is sometimes daunting to figure out the right connection point across our organization,” said Ronnie Hobbs, AFSC/SB director. “However, once you are able to make that connection, it is very satisfying to see the excitement and appreciation from our small business community.” The team’s efforts with the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program led to an increase of $8 million in SBIR Phase III awards. They also created the first-ever “Small Biz Buzz” monthly newsletter and crafted a customer engagement guide to help industry, academia and mission partners understand the small business program and AFSC as a whole. The team operates out of Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; Robins AFB, Georgia; and Hill AFB, Utah. “The professionals at each location have a passion and desire to see small businesses succeed,” said Hobbs. “The team takes pride in performing the research, and ensuring our small businesses know how and where to engage the AFSC ecosystem.” Hobbs will be leaving Small Business for a new role in AFSC Logistics, Operations, and Civil Engineering in mid-April. “When I began this role three years ago, I made a commitment to help overcome the ‘valley of death’ for industry,” he said, referring to the difficult phase of contracting with the government. Through working with several different organizations both on and off base, he believes that has become reality. “We have achieved historic outcomes over the past several years, and is a testament to the professionalism, passion, and commitment from our AFSC leaders and teammates.” Small business personnel are Ronnie Hobbs, Stacy Cochran, Crystal Reid, Lily Wilkerson, Kathryn Stafford, Lisa Stoker, Beth Shackelford, Tracey Beringer, Tim Inman, Randy Miller, Joseph "Jay" Herrera III, Lavetta Williams. Also included in the award are the AFSC Engineering Directorate SBIR Program points of contact Lindsay Fries, Jason Joy, Phong Do, and Jonathan Foster.