RELEASE DATE: July 20, 2007
CONTACT: Audrey Bailey, (919) 807-6963
Chancy Kapp, (919) 807-6962
State Board of
Community Colleges honors Small Business
Centers
Southeastern CC Small Business Center Statewide winner
RALEIGH - Southeastern Community College in Whiteville today
(Friday, July 20) received the award as the state's top Small
Business Center from the State Board of Community Colleges.
Southeastern represented the Eastern Region in the annual Small
Business Center Awards of Excellence presentation in Raleigh.
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College won for the Western
Region, and Wake Technical Community College won for the Central
Region. Together, these Small Business Centers are responsible for
having started more than 100 business employing more than 400 people
in a single year.
The Small Business Center Network of the North Carolina Community
College System includes Small Business Centers (SBCs) at each of the
state's 58 community colleges, all committed to assisting North
Carolinians who operate or want to start small businesses. In
2005-2006, SBCs provided high-quality entrepreneurship training for
almost 66,000 people and one-on-one counseling for more than 6,100
people.
George Millsaps (second from right, above), statewide director of the Small Business Center
Network, presented the awards. During the presentation, Millsaps
shared statistics from the federal Small Business Administration
that show that the nation's small businesses account for more than
99 percent of all employer firms, represent more than 97 percent of
exporters, create 60 to 80 percent of all net new jobs annually and
employ more than half of the private sector workforce.
Millsaps praised his 58-member Network, saying, “These Centers
symbolize what all Centers within the Network accomplish each and
every day - we fulfill dreams and we create jobs - lots and lots of
jobs.”
Today's presentation marked the sixth time Small Business
Centers have been recognized for excellence. Award recipients are
selected by a committee of statewide leaders in entrepreneurship.
The Southeastern Community College SBC was honored for its
creativity and innovative methods, which include sponsoring a
grant-funded business plan competition that led to almost $9,000 in
cash and prizes for winners. The SBC also hosted its first annual
“7th Congressional District Minority Business task Force Mentoring
Conference,” with more than 160 attendees who had the chance to
network with successful minority small business owners, participate
in discussions regarding challenges to expect as a minority
businessperson, visit vendors offering goods and services, learn
about community resources, and hear a beneficial roundtable
discussion and a keynote presentation by Congressman Mike McIntyre.
Ismael Montez, a native Puerto Rican, and his wife, Nellie are
typical clients. They wanted to start their own business and
consulted Mark Council (far right, above) , the SBC Director, for guidance. Council
assisted them with a business feasibility assessment, business plan
development, and start-up funding through a micro loan. Now, almost
a year later, Breathe EZ, a home medical products delivery service,
services more than 100 monthly patients and several home health
agencies.
The Small Business Center at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community
College, the Western Regional SBC of Excellence, is a leader in the
exporting arena. The SBC has formal memoranda of understanding with
foreign entities such as the Yangpu Incubator in Shanghai China. The
SBC, in collaboration with the NC BioBusiness Center headquartered
at Asheville-Buncombe and with the NC Biotechnology Center, is
working with a client to import Chinese herbs, infuse them with
native Western North Carolina herbs, and then export them back to
China.
The SBC offers hands-on local service, too. Russ Yelton (second
from left, above), SBC
Director at AB Tech, helped a blind client obtain a business loan to
start her own business and change her life. The business will
require considerable nurturing over time. Yelton’s efforts on
businesses such as these, combined with ongoing skilled one-on-one
counseling. have been extremely effective and can be credited with
at least 42 new business startups during 2004-2005.
The Small Business Center at Wake Technical Community College is the
Central Regional SBC of Excellence, honored for its impressive and
customized process for meeting the unique needs of its community.
Wake Tech utilizes relationship counseling and can be credited for
dozens of business start-ups, expansions, and stabilizations during
the past year. SBC Director Ken Dillo (far left, above)believes that companies can
grow if they have access to a full range of services and counselors
who follow up. Dillo has assisted Catalyst Manufacturing through
direct counseling and ensuring that Catalyst takes full advantage of
all services available at Wake Tech including New and Expanding
Industry Training and Focused Industrial Training. Catalyst started
small and has now created several hundred jobs.
A different kind of client is 11-year-old Conner, whose “Kits for
Kids” is a successful business selling science-based kits on-line.
Wake Tech's SBC has also partnered with several groups to create a
business skill-training program targeting the Hispanic community.
For more information about the Small Business Center Network of the
North Carolina Community College System, contact George Millsaps,
director, at 919-807-7217, email
millspas@nccommunitycolleges.edu or visit the website at
http://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/Business_and_Industry/sbcnmainpage.htm
The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than
800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges.
Internationally recognized for the scope and quality of its
programs, the System is North Carolina's primary provider of
workforce preparation and adult education. For details, visit
www.nccommunitycolleges.edu
Last modified:
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:24:39 PM
This page maintained by
Audrey Bailey.