Rock Hill SBDC Wins Excellence and Innovation Award from SBA

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.org to fill out the Contact Form.

Janet Graham -- SBDC State Star

WINTHROP REGIONAL SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Announces Selection of Janet Graham As SC State Star

Pictured, left to right: Jerry Silverman, CEO and Founder, Corporate Turnaround, sponsor of the ASBDC State Star Reception; Jerry Cartwright, Chair, ASBDC 2009 Board of Directors and State Director of the Florida SBDC Network; Theresa Singleton, Deputy District Director of the SC office of the Small Business Administration; Larry J. Stevens, Winthrop Regional SBDC Director; Janet Graham; and Antonio Doss, Associate Administrator for the US Small Business Administration's Office of Small Business Development Centers.

Larry Stevens, Regional Director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) located at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, announced that Janet Graham has been selected as the 2009 State Star of the South Carolina SBDC. Graham is Area Manager of the Coastal Area SBDC located at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC.

“I am pleased to make this announcement, and to recognize Ms. Graham for her extraordinary contributions to the work of the SBDC and small businesses in South Carolina,” said Stevens. “She was chosen by the South Carolina SBDC for being an exemplary performer, making a significant contribution to the SC SBDC program, and showing a strong commitment to small business in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area. I’m proud to have her represent our Winthrop SBDC Region.”

The Winthrop Regional SBDC and the Coastal Area SBDC are a part of America’s Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Network, a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing free counseling, workshops, and management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. With about 1,000 centers across the nation, America’s SBDC network provided business consulting to approximately 200,000 clients, training for more than 400,000 attendees, and other forms of management and technical assistance to approximately 600,000 small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs last year.

“It is an honor to accept this award,” said Graham, “and to have the opportunity to help so many people achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.”

Persons in the coastal area of South Carolina who are interested in receiving business start-up consultation or help in developing business plans should contact Janet Graham at the Coastal Area SBDC, (843) 349-4010 or visit the Coastal Area SBDC web site for more information, www.coastal.edu/sbdc.