| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Public Affairs |
| Date: April 12, 2000 |
Bank President Named Chair of Small Business State Advisory Committee
RALEIGH – Scott Bauer, founding president of Southern Community Bank and Trust in Winston-Salem, is the new chair of the State Advisory Committee of the Small Business Center Network (SBCN) of the North Carolina Community College System. His first meeting as chair is Tuesday, April 18 via a teleconference on the North Carolina Information Highway.
Bauer’s experience with the SBCN comes from serving on the Advisory Board of the Small Business Center at Forsyth Technical Community College. He says his financial background gives him a greater appreciation for role of the SBCN. "I've been in banking over 20 years and I know that most small businesses have limited resources. If we can help them survive and keep them well balanced, then we have done a good job." Bauer and his wife reside in Winston-Salem and have three children.
Gayle Harvey, SBCN Executive Director, says she is thrilled to have Bauer on board as State Director. "Mr. Bauer’s expertise and interest in the small business industry is evident. We are confident our organization and the services we provide will be enhanced under his watch."
The Small Business Center Network began in 1983 with eight Small Business Centers established at community colleges around the state. Today, a Small Business Center is located at each of the 58 community colleges across the state. The Centers have full-time expert staff to provide counseling and referrals to potential, new and existing small business owners, and offer free seminars and training classes. This service reinforces the mission of community colleges to support economic development through services to business and industry.
The Small Business Center Network is one of the largest state-sponsored assistance programs of its type in the country. During the past two years the SBCN experienced a 29 percent increase in the number of people receiving business counseling or attending free seminars. In 1999 alone 6,626 people received business counseling and 50,042 people participated in SBC workshops and seminars.
The SBCN teleconference will originate at the NCCCS in Raleigh and connect with sites at community colleges in Guilford, Haywood and Lenoir counties. This will enable members across the state to participate in the meeting without traveling too far. On the agenda is a report on the valuable assistance provided to eastern small business owners after Hurricane Floyd. After the flood, SBCN Directors from across the state traveled Down East to help SBCN Directors there counsel small business owners and help them file for disaster loans. The SBCN will also focus on their minority outreach initiatives, particularly Hispanic and historically underutilized businesses, and they will review their Export Outreach Program.
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