Wilford L. White Fellows Award

As a result of their efforts, the National Council for Small Business Management Development was created in 1955. The council held its first annual conference in Colorado. The National Council existed until the late 1970s, when under the leadership of the council's president, Dr. Ole Johnson and others it became apparent that the world had accepted entrepreneurship and small business as the vehicle to future economic growth and prosperity.

The newly named International Council for Small Business was born in 1977, and at that time, there were only two affiliates; the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) and the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (CCSBE). Today, the ICSB has over 2,400 members with 12 affiliates and numerous international members in at least 60 countries.

The Wilford L. White Award recognizes the achievements of those men and women whose passion and burning desire for small business and entrepreneurship is reflected in their teaching, writing, research, training and public service.  Since 1977, sixty six distinguished educators, researchers, government officials, small business advocates and trade association leaders have been selected as a Wilford White Fellow including the following five individuals honored at the 50th ICSB World Conference in Washington, DC: Drs Ray Bagby, Brian Gibson, Louis Jacques Filion, G. Dale Meyer and Professor Wee Liang Tan.

The current ICSB Past President/Wilford L. White Fellows representative to the ICSB board is J. Hanns Pichler and the current chair of the Wilford L. White Fellows is George Solomon.

Wilford White Fellows