(Thank you to CM Productions for the above video!)

We are thrilled to announce our 2021 Lillie Knox Award winners! With the help of our generous donors we were able to give out a total of $41,000 to 5 WBEs!


The Lillie Knox Investment Award is a cash prize of up to $20,000, exclusively available to WBCS Women's Business Enterprises, to help further business growth. 


Read on below for highlights of each winner, who they are and what they plan to accomplish with their grant.


Yummy Life Naturals - $6000 
Beginning as a way to find a solution to help the founder’s infant daughters skin condition, Yummy Life Naturals has now become a manufacturing company that also does private label orders and packaging in-house for big box stores. This grant will help Yummy Life Naturals purchase many things, including an air cutting machine, allowing them to cut multiple bars of soap at a time instead of cutting by hand. This will increase productivity and allow them to take on larger business. 


“They obviously see potential in what we are doing and want to help us grow and go to the next level” – Missy Clay, Founder & CEO


A La Carte Catering & Cakes - $6500
A Full-service catering company in the DFW metroplex, A La Carte Catering & Cakes serves lunch, breakfast, dinner, and a variety of yummy desserts for any occasion. A La Carte plans to revitalize their brand with the Lillie Knox grant. The main focus will be their website, search engine optimization, and google ads, all with the help of another WBE company! This website traffic will help with growth, increase revenue, and create more jobs. 


“It’s all about working together, and I’m so grateful for WBCS to be working with us.  It’s been encouraging to know that others do care” – Michelle McDonald, CEO


Gifting With Sol - $8850
Gifting with Sol helps corporations connect to their employees and clients by spicing up their gifting game. They send many types of gifts from corporate to employee, and can even deliver a gift to their front door. Gifting with Sol plans to use the Lillie Knox grant for their systems and operations. With the help of a fellow WBE, they will put all of their systems and operations under one place to automate tasks, be more efficient, and scale their business faster.


“The WBCS was basically my lifeline in 2020. I was certified in November of 2019 and had to figure out how to be involved while being 600 miles away in El Paso. Between Zoom and WBCS my business has taken on a new level.” Anne Mitchell, Founder/Owner


Firemans Paving Contractors - $9650
Firemans Paving and Supplies specializes in paving and parking lot maintenance needs, offering a variety of services dealing with concrete and asphalt. They plan to purchase a larger enclosed trailer to house and transport their striping equipment and painting supplies. They are excited to have the ability to include “Lillie”, a ride-on line laser system, they purchased in 2018 as a result of being a Lillie Knox 2018 award winner. 


“The Lillie Knox Grant is helping equip our crew…to help us be more efficient and keep everybody safe on the road.” -Renee Gilmore, President


Star Wellness – $10,000
Star Wellness’s mission is to save lives through early detection of disease and save their clients money through cost avoidance. Their services include screening for health care issues and mass immunization. Their Lillie Knox grant will go towards automating and upgrading their software to replace paper forms with tablets for checking in their patients. This will help with reporting and billing, allowing them to grow revenue and create jobs. 


“The Lillie Knox award will help us by leaps and bounds to be far better than any of our competition, because we will be able to do more, quickly and efficiently.”-Johnette van Eeden, Founder & CEO