• October 21, 2009

Sacred Wind Communications has been named the winner of the American Express "Shine a Light" Program.

The Albuquerque, N.M.-based telecom company will receive $100,000 in grant and marketing support from American Express in addition to the $10,000 grant they received for becoming a finalist.

The other two finalists, who will each receive a $10,000 grant, were Happy Baby of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Beacon Paint and Hardware of New York. Thousands of nominations were received for small businesses across the country, and the public voted to determine most inspiring small business at www.nbc.com/shinealight.

Celebrity judges and entrepreneurs Ellen DeGeneres, Diane von Furstenberg and MSNBC small biz expert JJ Ramberg helped to select the three small business finalists based on innovation, community spirit and customer service.--Tanya Irwin