Radha Herring, the owner and broker-in-charge of Watermark Real Estate Group in Myrtle Beach, has been named the Small Business Association's 2012 South Carolina Small Business Person of the Year.

The SDA chose Herring based on her growth in sales, financial performance and response to adversity and community involvement.

Herring, a Myrtle Beach native, started Watermark Real Estate in 2007.

Despite of the recession, Watermark's sales were 15 times in higher in 2009 than the previous year, and sales continued to rise through 2010 and 2011.