Alpaca Award

She started in the corporate world and gave it all up for alpaca. Now Barbara Ronchetti will be honored for Building a Better Mousetrap.

The award, presented by small business counseling group Cape Cod SCORE, is given to 15 small business that have survived five years of operation and appear headed for long-term success. Ms. Ronchetti, who began the Island Alpaca Company in 2004, was selected by the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce.

A native of Lexington, Ms. Ronchetti moved to the Island in 1995. In 2002 she fell in love with alpaca at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Fair. Two years after that, with extensive alpaca research under her belt, she started the Island Alpaca Company. The farm, featuring a gift shop and online store, is now open daily, year-round. Seventy animals call the Oak Bluffs property home.

Ms. Ronchetti will accept her award at SCORE’s annual breakfast on Thursday, May 17 at the Old Yarmouth Inn. Tickets are $30. More information and reservations are available by calling Cape Cod SCORE at 508-775-4884.