The 31st Annual SCORE Small Business Awards and Cape Cod’s Chambers of Commerce Excellence Awards will be held on May 7th at 7:30AM at Family Table Collaborative (Riverway Lobster House in Yarmouth).
SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands recognizes the outstanding businesses of 2025. SCORE will honor their Small Business of the Year (Cape Cod Nail Co), Non-Profit of the Year (Cahoon Museum of American Art) and Small Business Champion (David Troutman & Scargo Cafe) while the various Chambers of Commerce on Cape Cod will each recognize their town’s best with their Business Excellence Award.
At this year’s ceremony, SCORE’s Keynote Speaker will be Paul Niedzwiecki, CEO of Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce on the subject of “The Power of Small Business”.
Small Business of the Year: Cape Cod Nail Co. – initially began business as a mobile nail service. In last 2020 Sarah Mason, founder and owner, expanded by opening a full-service salon in Mashpee Commons that now employs seven. In May 2025, they will open their second location in Orleans. In addition to the nail salon, Cape Cod Nail Co launched their own line of nail polish in October 2017. The introduction of this product line was in response to customer demand for longer lasting alternatives to traditional offerings. The polish is vegan, cruelty-free, 21-Free and made in the USA.
Nonprofit of the Year: Cahoon Museum of American Art – a SCORE client since 2017 who has successfully executed a full strategic plan, mentoring focused on financial stabilization where the Executive Director and Board members were engaged in the process. Their focus on operations improvement, financial stabilization and membership growth resulted in growth in budget, employees, funds raised and visitors all the while applying sound business principle to be a valued resource to the community.
Small Business Champion: David Troutman & ScargoCafe – Co-owner of Scargo Café and a strong support of both for and non profit organizations. Attended Barnstable High School and Cape Cod Community College before graduating from Suffolk University with a degree in Communications. He is a founding member of Calmer Choice, a mentor in the YMCA Achievers program, on the Executive Board of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and a Board Member of the Community Leadership Institute. He founded the Second Summer Cycle that supports 19 nonprofits, is a Board Member for WECAN, is a cohort member for EforAll and is a Subject Matter Expert for SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands.
Chambers of Commerce on Cape Cod will provide Business Excellence Awards to:
Brewster Chamber to Brewster Bookstore
Cape Cod Canal Chamber to Fishing for the Mission 22
Cape Cod Chamber to Kedame
Dennis Chamber to Captain Baker Donut Shop
Harwich Chamber to Hinckley Home Center
Hyannis Area Chamber to Bagel & Beyond 2
Martha’s Vineyard to The Good Shoppe
Mashpee Chamber to Clancy Construction
Orleans Chamber to Wild Water Collective
Provincetown Chamber to West End Market
Sandwich Chamber to Align Dance Training
Wellfleet Chamber to AMZehnder Gallery
Yarmouth Area Chamber to Caffe Gelato Bertini
The business community overall has rallied to support this exciting event with
Cape Cod 5 as the event sponsor. They will be joined by many others businesses and lending institutions at the Wednesday, May 7th event.
To attend, register at: www.tinyurl.com/mtze88na – Event fee: $40.00
SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. The Cape Cod & the Islands chapter was founded in 1970 and is staffed by volunteer counselors with years of business experience. For more information on SCORE, our workshops or to schedule free one- on-one counseling visit our website www.score.org/capecod, send an email to capecod@scorevolunteer.org or call 508-775-4884.