Orcas Island’s Jill Blankenship is the 2013 Washington state Small Business Person of the Year.

On Friday, June 21, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) met with Blankenship in the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing room at the Capitol. Cantwell is a member of the committee, which held an event June 21 to honor state winners of the SBA contest, including the national Small Business Person of the Year, John Stonecipher of Arizona.

Blankenship is CEO of Frontline Call Center on Orcas Island. Launched in 2005, Frontline has grown into a multimillion-dollar company with more than 60 employees in 12 states. Frontline is the Orcas Island’s third-largest employer.

“I want to congratulate Jill for being named the 2013 Washington state small business person of the year,” Cantwell said. “Her company is a testament to the American entrepreneurial spirit and innovation economy. Frontline demonstrates exactly what makes small businesses so critical to the economic success of communities across our nation.”

Also as part of the National Small Business Week celebration, Cantwell joined 55 of her colleagues to co-sponsor a bipartisan senate resolution, honoring entrepreneurs and small businesspeople across America. Resolution 177 passed the U.S. Senate unanimously June 19.

For more about Frontline Call Center, visit www.frontlinecallcenter.com.