Indiana Chamber names small businesses of the year
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A custom home builder from Bargersville and a wellness retail shop from New Albany are this year’s Small Businesses of the Year, as named by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
Each year the chamber accepts nominations for companies with fewer than 100 employees who combine business acumen with community leadership. For 2025, the chamber picked Duke Homes in Bargersville, which is about 45 minutes south of Indianapolis, and The Elderberry Co. in Floyd County.
Indiana Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Vanessa Green Sinders said the chamber received over 40 nominees for the awards.
“Small businesses are so vital to the state’s economic prosperity and make our local communities what they are. It’s why the Indiana Chamber is dedicated to doing all it can to champion this important sector,” she said in a press release announcing the winners.
Duke Homes was founded by Mike Duke nearly 40 years ago and has since grown to 21 builders. The chamber said it “was impressed with Duke Homes’ dedication to employees, continued revenue growth as well as stellar service to its local community.”
In New Albany, Jenny Watson began making a homemade elderberry syrup for her young son close to 10 years ago. Watson soon began sharing the recipe with her friends and that eventually led to her opening a storefront and business.
The chamber says The Elderberry Co. is now a multi-million dollar enterprise with 16 workers and 40 wellness products.
The winners received their awards at a luncheon in Indianapolis on Tuesday.