Rock Hill, SC -- The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) located at Winthrop University in Rock Hill has been named winner of the Excellence and Innovation Award for the Small Business Administration’s Region IV. Region IV serves the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
At the urging of its Region Director Larry Stevens, the staff of the Rock Hill Small Business Development Center put his suggestion to “Challenge the Status Quo” to work, brainstorming and developing a plan to increase the Center’s impact in 2014. And the plan worked.
“The Rock Hill Area SBDC has proven exceptional, both through the assistance it has given to countless individual entrepreneurs and through the many innovative programs and partnerships it has developed to better serve the area business community,” said Elliott Cooper, District Director of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) South Carolina District Office. “We are proud of everything they have accomplished, and we are beyond proud to count them as a partner.”
The SBDC Excellence and Innovation Award, which is part of SBA’s national awards program, honors an SBDC for “excellence in providing value to small businesses and advancing program delivery and management through innovation,” according to the official SBA award guidelines.
Roger Weikle, Dean of the College of Business Administration at Winthrop, said, “I could not be more proud of the contribution of the SBDC. The experts on staff contribute to the economic development of our region, increase the effective operation of a variety of small businesses, and assist in teaching our students in the process. The Small Business Development Center is part of a great partnership, efficiently combining resources of the SBA, the State of South Carolina, and Winthrop University.”
The SBA administers the SBDC Program to give current and prospective entrepreneurs access to a wide variety of free and low-cost business assistance through nearly 1,000 locations across the nation. The SBA recognizes up to one SBDC in each state, which then go on to compete at the regional and national levels. Nominee evaluation criteria include client satisfaction, business start-up numbers, job creation, capital infusion, and innovation and success in community economic development.
Anyone who wishes to contact the Rock Hill SBDC, which serves York, Chester, Lancaster, Union and Cherokee Counties should call (803) 323-2283 or visit the Center’s website at www.winthropregionalsbdc.
