Maricopa Business Woman Receives Statewide Recognition

The 2008 Success Awards were presented February 13, 2008 in Phoenix. Among the 14 winners was Michelle Allcott-Mills, who has owned and operated Safety On Site Training (SOST) in Maricopa, AZ for the past 5-½ years. SOST is a complete health and safety training, consulting and sales company.

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) March 26, 2008 -- Every year, the Arizona Small Business Development Center (AZ SDBC) honors small business owners for their large role in Arizona's economy with the Success Awards. These entrepreneurs create jobs and tax revenue that stay within the state and local communities, benefiting all Arizonans.

Allcott-Mills' success story is one of an educator and a lifesaver, combining two passions into a profitable and successful business. She was a schoolteacher for several years, at a three-room school in Mobile, AZ. This little school was out in the middle of nowhere and Michelle often worried that if something were to happen to one of the children, it would take emergency medical professionals too long to arrive and help. Having already come from a long line of firefighters, and working previously for the Motorola Fire Brigade, she decided to take the EMT-B course.

Later, life necessitated this single mother to earn more money than a teacher typically earns, so she used her EMT training to become a part-time Firefighter/EMT for the Ak-Chin Reservation, near Maricopa. After many years of this dual role, Allcott-Mills decided she needed to spend more time with her family, so she combined her two career choices into one. The Educator and Emergency Medical Technician began a company to educate others about emergency care and all other health and safety concepts.

Safety On Site Training is an American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center. The company also offers American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI) and OSHA classes through the University of California, San Diego. As if that wasn't enough, the company also sells a full line of products to accommodate many facets of health and safety for business, government offices and lay public. In July 2007, the company was awarded the state contract in Arizona to provide AEDs for government offices all over the state.

In the past year, Allcott-Mills took her company to a new level, with the addition of a full time employee and several new Training Sites that conduct AHA classes under the SOST Training Center umbrella. The company also expanded from offering only Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR classes, to offering Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) classes, which are required for EMTs, paramedics, nurses and doctors.

"It's a strange feeling to realize what you're doing is not only supporting you and your family, but also other families," said Allcott-Mills when referring to the addition of Beth Moser, who is the company's AED Program Director and also teaches most of the company's BLS classes. "Without Beth's help, I couldn't have achieved as much as I did this past year and I'm excited to see how much more the two of us can grow the company so that we can bring others along with us, on our path to success." Two more people are planned to be added this summer in a sales capacity.

Moser said working for SOST has been a life-changing experience. "I never dreamed that I would find so much joy in a job. I go to bed every night knowing that what I did that day truly did make a difference, and perhaps played a role in someday saving a life. There is no better feeling than that!"

Allcott-Mills also owes some of her success to the wisdom of her AZ SBDC Business Coach, Jim Rhodes. The two meet regularly to discuss plans and strategies that have played a large part in the goals she's been able to achieve. Rhodes, Moser and Allcott-Mills' youngest child, A.J. Allcott, took the stage with her as she accepted her award. She began her acceptable speech pointing out that "without the support of our families, we could not succeed as small business owners", and young A.J. beamed with pride in his mother's accomplishments.

Michelle is also starting down new paths as she continues on the old ones. She has recently been asked to be an expert witness for the state in a case involving AEDs and hopes to pursue more of that in the future.

If you are seeking a Basic or Advanced CPR class, in need of supplies such as First Aid kids, CPR masks, training equipment, sanitation products, AEDs, OHSA training or even a Child & Babysitting Safety course, Safety On Site Training is the only stop you need to make. The company truly does it all.

For more information please visit the company's website.

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