On October 20, 2003, a Celebration Reception was held by BWXT Y-12 at the American Museum of Science and Energy to celebrate the receipt of the Small Business Administration's Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence in Service.

The award recognizes BWXT Y-12's commitment to using small businesses subcontractors. BWXT Y-12 contracts with over 2,000 small businesses for products and services.

One Eisenhower Award is given each year to a federal contractor in each of four categories of work:service, research and development, manufacturing, and construction. The awards are the highest honor bestowed by the Small Business Administration to federal contractors.

The reception included opening remarks from State Senator Randy McNally, who expressed how important BWXT Y-12 is to the state of Tennessee. "The state of Tennessee is home to some of the best companies and winning this award sends a clear message: Tennessee is a place where companies like BWXT Y-12 not only do innovative work, but also seek out opportunities to ensure that small businesses can thrive," said McNally.

General Manager and President of BWXT Y-12, Dennis Ruddy then accepted the Eisenhower Award on behalf of the thousands of BWXT Y-12 employees. Ruddy expressed his sincere appreciation to a crowd of more than 200. "In my mind, this award is the equivalent of an Olympic Gold Medal, and just like a gold medal it takes the dedication and effort of a team to win it. We take great pride in our work and in Bob Waters [Procurement Manager] and his staff. They worked hard for years to raise the level of small business participation, striving to identify strong small business partners to join the Y-12 team," Ruddy said. "It also required the support of our elected officials and the community-Thank You all! BWXT Y-12 will continue to support the small businesses in our region. Together we will remain focused on our goal of being able, agile, and affordable to our customers."

Congressman Zach Wamp was the keynote speaker for the reception. He addressed the vision of BWXT Y-12 and the importance of small businesses to the regional economy. "BWXT Y-12 facilitates great partnerships and adds to the region's quality of life by providing interesting, high quality and good-paying jobs for the people of this area," said Wamp.

BWXT Y-12, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, is a limited liability enterprise of BWX Technologies and Bechtel National Inc. The Y-12 National Security Complex plays a major role in the security of the nation by its production and refurbishment of weapons components, storage of nuclear material and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence was created in 1991 to honor firms that operate as prime federal contractors and have excelled in using small businesses as subcontractors and suppliers.  The award is named for the president under whom the Small Business Administration was created in 1953. Nominees are selected from a pool of approximately 2,500 contractors. To be considered, companies must demonstrate maximum, practicable opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses and women.