State Rep. Perry Warren on Sept. 12 honored Eileen Steele Slezak of Newtown during a Capitol ceremony marking 2018 as the Year of the Pennsylvania Woman.

A Newtown native, Slezak is the business manager and co-owner of Rick Steele’s Gulf Services in Newtown, a three-generation family business opened by her father in 1970.

Slezak graduated from Council Rock High School and Goldey-Beacom College with a degree in small business management.

According to the National Women’s Business Council, women-owned businesses across the nation generated $1.4 trillion in receipts and represent some 38 percent of all U.S. businesses. In Fortune 500 companies, firms that had at least three women board directors for at least five years, outperformed those with no women board directors on return on sales, return on invested capital, and return on equity.

“Pennsylvania needs women business owners more than ever because they bring a fresh and unique perspective to entrepreneurship while setting an example to girls and women looking to excel in what’s typically been a male-dominated industry,” said Warren, D-Bucks. “Eileen started as a teenager learning the ropes of her family’s business and mastered the skills necessary to keep a successful business not only running, but flourishing.

“Eileen was an easy choice for being honored today because she stands out not only in succeeding in an industry dominated by males, but also as a compassionate member of the community and champion of her friends and all neighbors.”