Quest for excellence pays off

In 1975, Wallace "Wally" Cooper took what he called a "leap of faith." A terrifying, life-altering, thrilling $30 leap of faith.

Cooper founded his own architecture firm, in a one-room office over Guthrie Bicycle on 200 South in Salt Lake City. The rent was $30 per month.

"It was a lot of money. It really was," Cooper said. It was the '70s and he was just getting his start in life: a house, recently purchased and needing restoration, and a wife, with whom he was starting a family. But Cooper had a dream.

"My father had his own business, a small dry-cleaning, clothes cleaning business on the west side," he said. "He was sort of a model for me. I always wanted to have my own business, like he had his own business."

That entrepreneurial drive is a hallmark of the Salt Lake Chamber's 2006 Small Business Award winners. They are: Cooper Roberts Simonsen Associates, Small Business of the Year; McKinnon-Mulherin Inc., Entrepreneurial Success Award; Latitude Restaurant Group, Minority Small Business Award; and Eye Care for Kids Foundation, Community Service Award.

"This is a great year for the Chamber's Small Business Awards," said Lane Beattie, chamber president and chief executive. "Our four honorees are diverse in what they do, but they hold in common a deep entrepreneurial passion and drive. They are enthusiastic about what they do — and this enthusiasm has built up their businesses. They truly are some of the best small businesses in Salt Lake and deserve this prestigious recognition."

Cooper's dream grew with his business, which now includes two partners and 45 employees and continues to develop and change over time.

"The vision has changed, in that it's now a vision about people," he said. "When I started out, I saw myself — with a capital 'm' — and a few others. Now, I don't see myself. I see a lot of incredibly talented people I get to work with every day. It's changed in that it's a collaboration of talented people who have skills I could never provide."

That diversity has proven one of the firm's trademarks — so much so that it recently changed its name from Cooper Roberts Simonsen Architects to Cooper Roberts Simonsen Associates.