John D. Fernandez, president and CEO of Daystar Desserts LLC, has been selected as Virginia’s Small Business Person of the Year 2010 by the Small Business Administration.

In announcing the selection, SBA Richmond District Director Ronald E. Bew said, “The SBA is proud to honor John Fernandez as he represents the finest traits in American entrepreneurial spirit. His dedication, technical expertise, strong leadership and management have led to great success for Daystar Desserts.”

Fernandez will be honored May 23-25 in Washington, D.C., during the SBA’s National Small Business Week ceremonies along with other state winners from across the United States.

Events in Washington will include a luncheon honoring state small business winners from across the nation where the National Small Business Person of the Year will be announced.

Fernandez will be formally presented with his Virginia award at the Annual Small Business Awards Luncheon at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond on Thursday, June 3. The event will also highlight several Virginia small business champions.

Fernandez and a former partner formed Daystar Desserts in 1998, combining their talents in an effort to create brilliant desserts of the utmost quality accompanied by outstanding service to the customer. They started by baking these desserts in John’s mother’s kitchen on Long Island, using freezers in her garage to store their product.

At times working 36 hours straight, they did everything from baking to selling and even hand-delivering their creations.

Thanks to their hard work and dedication, the business grew to become one of the most respected upscale dessert suppliers in the nation.

In 2004 Daystar Desserts acquired World’s Best Cheesecake in Ashland, becoming one company with a great variety and plenty of production capacity.

In the past three years, Daystar has gone from delivering products to six states to delivering to 38 states, tripling its workforce in the process.

As a result of the downturn in the economy, Daystar launched a new, smaller-sized cheesecake product line at a lower price with a more “home-style” look to them. This created a shift for their consumers. Instead of feeling guilty about buying a “fancy” dessert, they viewed the desserts as an inexpensive indulgence or a “comfort food” during a time of high anxiety. This innovative thinking won Daystar one of the largest cheesecake contracts in the nation.