Lori's Original Lemonade Receives National Recognition as an American Small Business Champion by SCORE

Local business Lori's Original Lemonadehas been named a winner of The 2018 American Small Business Championship by SCORE, the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. The Championship awarded this title to 102 entrepreneurs for their dedication to the success of their small businesses, awarding them an all-expense-paid trip to a training and networking event, SCORE mentoring and publicity throughout the year, and a chance to win one of three $15,000 grand prizes, made possible with the support of Sam's Club.

Lori's Original Lemonade earned the title of American Small Business Champion by submitting an online application describing what makes their business one of the best small businesses in their community, and how they plan to use the prizes to grow their business. Nominations thatgarnered at least 100 votes were then presented to a judging panel of small business experts that determined 102 winners including Lori's Original Lemonade.

Created in 2011, Lori's Original Lemonade was born from a recipe in Lori's kitchen, one that she made for her kid's lemonade stand in Ojai, CA years ago. With growing college debt for her three kids and losing her part time job, Lori decided to contribute by commercially bottling her signature Lavender Lemonade. Now with five flavors, each lemonade is uniquely infused with herbs and spices and local ingredients whenever possible, providing a superior beverage with a bold, fresh and pure taste that you can experience as soon as you open the cap. Today the business is prospering, with their lemonades in Whole Foods, Vons, Pavilions, Albertsons, Gelson's, Bristol Farms, Lassens, local retailers, restaurants and their newest retailer Ralphs launching early Spring 2018 in So Cal. Lori's Original Lemonade's mission is to offer the most delicious organic lemonades on the market with a vision of paying it forward through organizations, local community projects and fundraisers benefitting children and the environment for a better tomorrow.

"We are so grateful to receive this recognition from SCORE and their help in growing our company over the last 6 years. Thank you to our amazing community, customers, retailers and suppliers for all of their support and love along the way. We can't wait to see where this opportunity takes us" says Lori Volk, Chief Believer, Founder Lori's Original Lemonade.

SCORE congratulates and celebrates these 102 American Small Business Champions, who represent some of the best small businesses in America," said SCORE CEO Ken Yancey. "We are proud to reward these passionate and hardworking entrepreneurs with business mentoring, publicity and additional networking and training opportunities, and we look forward to watching them utilize these tools to further grow their business success."

"Supporting entrepreneurs has been a part of who we are for nearly 35 years," said Tracey D. Brown, Senior Vice President of Operations and Chief Experience Officer at Sam's Club. "Many of our members own a small business and we appreciate having the opportunity to help them as they find creative solutions to problems they face on a day to day basis. The 102 winners celebrated through the American Small Business Championship are excellent examples of how innovation, persistence and knowing your customers can help an entrepreneur overcome obstacles and we congratulate them on their accomplishments."

Lori's Original Lemonade is also eligible to win one of three additional $15,000 grand prizes, by being named Grand Champion. A judging panel of small business experts will select three Grand Champion from the group of small business champions this summer. Selection will be based on how effectively Champions utilize their prizes to grow business revenue or operations, as well as how effectively the winners promoted the Championship in the media and social media.

To learn more about Lori's Original Lemonade, visithttp://www.lorisoriginallemonade.com

To learn more about The American Small Business Championship and to view the complete list of Champions, visit www.championship.score.org.

About SCORE

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 10 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE's 10,000 volunteer business experts provide 450,000+ free small business mentoring sessions, workshops and educational services to clients in 300 chapters nationwide. In 2017, SCORE volunteers provided 3.6+ million hours to help create more than 54,000 small businesses and 116,000 full-time, part-time, owner and contractor jobs.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, visit SCORE at www.score.org. Follow @SCOREMentors on Facebook and Twitter for the latest small business news and updates.

Media Contact: Lori Volk, Lori's Original Lemonade, 8056406565, SALES@LORISORIGINALLEMONADE.COM

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