FACES owner wins state award

Island day spa's founder named Small Business Person of the Year

A Hilton Head Island business woman has garnered two top small-business awards -- and next month she could scoop up a national honor.

After placing first runner-up last year to the island's H&H Auto, Patricia Owen of Faces Day Spa has won the state Small Business Administration's Small Business Person of the Year.

Owen also has won the Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in recognition of the company's dedication to excellence, the national chamber announced this week.

The Blue Ribbon is awarded to companies that have served their employees and customers with consistent dedication. Businesses also must show excellence in financial performance, community involvement and business planning.

Last year marked the first time an island-based business had received the SBA's top honor since the award was introduced in 1995. Owen came out on top this year in the face of stiff competition from 18 nominees around the state, from technology companies to medical clinics, said Susan Chavis, SBA business development specialist.

Owen now will go to a reception next month in Washington, where the national award, made up of winners from every state, will be announced.

If Owen wins, her husband may have to accept the award for her, she said.

"I will die," she said this week. "That will be my funeral."

The national winner is announced April 13 at a luncheon in Washington.

The SBA award's staying on the island is a clear tip of the hat to Hilton Head businesses, officials said.

The award's winner is determined by an eight-member committee of state business leaders appointed by the SBA. Winners must satisfy certain criteria, such as community contributions, business growth and innovative approaches to business.

"It's a prestigious award that recognizes the drive, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit of Patricia Owen and her team at Faces," said Bill Miles, president of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.

Her business truly reflects what service and meeting the needs of clients is all about, Miles said.

Owen began her career in St. Louis in 1977 as a promotional assistant and makeup artist for Estee Lauder cosmetics. She was married in 1980 to Jay Owen and later relocated to Detroit, where she continued her career in cosmetics as a special-events coordinator and regional educ-

ator for Estee Lauder. The couple moved to Hilton Head in 1983 and opened a women's retail clothing store and shortly thereafter acquired the rights to have the island's only Estee Lauder department.

Today, Owen has a staff of 22 and a 3,000-square-foot full-service spa at The Village at Wexford. The company won the local chamber's Small Business of the Year award in 1996 and last year won the SBA's eight-state regional Entrepreneurial Success award.

Her latest awards are another feather in the island's cap, Owen said.

"It's a small island, but we have some good businesses here," she said. "You have to be a world-class business because visitors have traveled the world."

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