Katie Bigelow of Mettle Ops Named as Finalist for Women’s Veteran Business Enterprise of the Year
Katie Bigelow of Mettle Ops Named as Finalist for Women’s Veteran Business Enterprise of the Year
Sterling Heights, MI – Founder and President of Mettle Ops, Katie Bigelow, is a finalist for the Women’s Veteran Business Enterprise of the Year (WVBEOY) award by the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) in collaboration with Shell Oil Company and Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
“I am honored to be selected as a finalist for the WVBEOY award,” said Katie Bigelow, Founder and President of Mettle Ops. “At Mettle Ops, we recognize the importance of team work. With a motto to never give up, we will continue working as a team, and continue growing, to make a difference in the lives of warfighters. We strive to meet their needs for equipment that works better and offers state-of-the-art protection. We never forget our obligation to the American warfighter.”
The WVBEOY award is annually distributed to an elite group of women from the United States’ 3 million U.S. military veteran business owners. To be eligible to receive the award, the nominee must be a U.S. military veteran business owner who actively runs a company and works as a supplier to private sector companies.
“These women have such amazing stories,” said Mimi Lohm, Vice President of NaVOBA. “We’re so proud to celebrate how they’ve gone from serving our country in the military to overcoming challenges to become successful business owners and employers.”
Veteran entrepreneurs were encouraged to self-nominate their business for the award. Corporate Allies were also encouraged to nominate their veteran-owned supplier.
The four finalists and award recipient were honored on June 25 at the WVBEOY reception, held in conjunction with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s (WBENC) conference. WBENC is the largest, third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the United States.
The mission of NaVOBA is to provide a direct link for contracting between corporate America and Certified Veteran’s Business Enterprises (VBE) and Certified Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises (SDVBE).
About Mettle Ops
Mettle Ops is an U.S. Small Business Administration 8(a), Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned, Small Business (SDVOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE), and Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB). Headquartered in Sterling Heights, Michigan and founded in 2013, Mettle Ops specializes in research, development, reverse engineering, program management, ground vehicle design, test and evaluation experience, system integration capabilities, and facilitates manufacturing and fabrication. Mettle Ops’ team includes war veterans with 35 years combined experience in Army service. Inspired by courage and tenacity and so-named Mettle Ops.
Mettle Ops | Warfighters Serving Warfighters | www.mettleops.com
3223 15 Mile Road, Sterling Heights, MI 48310 | info@mettleops.com | 586.306.8962
WBE, WOSB, EDWOSB, CVE, VOSB, SDVOSB,
U.S. Small Business Administration 8(a) Certified 2027
DUNS: 07-908-4144 | CAGE: 6XYB2