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Cassius Butts Regional Administrator U.S. Small Buisness Administration |
The SBA has hit the ground running with educating small business communities across the nation on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With enrollment for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) beginning October 1st, we are making it a priority to reach out to small business owners about the importance of the ACA and the opportunities it will bring small businesses. Please feel free to contact any of our district offices for assistance with the ACA or if you are looking for a speaker to educate small business owners on the Act, and we are happy to assist. You can contact any of the SBA's District Offices through www.sba.gov. In the meantime, the SBA has posted a series of blog posts I think you may find interesting. You can find these blogs at www.sba.gov/community. For a comprehensive, easy to use website to learn more about SHOP and the ACA, please visit www.healthcare.gov. Welcome SBA Region IV's Newest EmployeeThe SBA Region IV Office welcomes Matthew B. Mitchell to the team as the Regional Administrative Resource Coordinator. Matthew comes to the SBA as a Presidential Management Fellow from Orlando, Florida. He is a graduate of Florida A & M and received his M.S. in Human Resource Management from the University of Central Florida. Matthew was most recently a Human Resources Specialist with RaceTrac Petroleum. The Regional Office is honored to have Matthew on board. Photo: Matthew B. Mitchell (left) being sworn in by Cassius Butts, Regional Administrator | |  |
SBA South Florida District Office Welcomes Two New Employees The South Florida District Office recently welcomed two new employees to the main office in Miami. Tina Davis is the district's new Administrative Officer and Kim Prenter is the new Lender Relations Specialist. Ms. Davis's arrival to the district office is more of a welcome back. Davis was previously employed here 15 years ago before she continued her federal career progression at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., as both a civil service and Air Force reserve human relations specialist. For a decade, she provided both military and federal employees employment and career services, counseling, and support. Ms. Prenter comes to the district office with more than six years in the banking and financial services industry where she specialized in lending, collections, sales and management. Additionally, Kim has more than 14 years of operational management with expertise in customer relations, business procedures and business development. She joined the federal workforce in 2011. Prior to arriving at SBA, Kim worked at the Department of Homeland Security. Tina and Kim have settled into their new surroundings and their added contributions to the staff are having a great impact to meeting disrict goals to help entrepreneurs and small businesses. What's Happening In Your Small Business Community? | |  |
 | | SBA Alabama District Office Thomas Todt, District Director The Alabama District Office signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with the City of Birmingham on Saturday, September 14, 2013. Signing for the SBA were SBA Regional Administrator Cassius Butts and SBA Alabama District Director Tom Todt. Birmingham Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. signed for the city. The signing was part of the Empowerment Week activities celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement. |
Left to Right: SBA Alabama District Director, Tom Todt, Mayor William A. Bell of Birmingham and Cassius Butts, SBA Regional Administrator | |  |
 | | SBA North Florida District Office Wilfredo J. Gonzalez, District Director The North Florida District Office participated in the second annual Florida Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (FLAGGL) conference in Orlando, FL September 12-13, 2013. Veronica Wallace, Lead Lender Relations Specialist provided updates to conference participants on district lending volume and statistics. Other SBA speakers and participants included Miguel Gonzalez, Assistant District Director for Lender Relations (South Florida), Cassius Butts, Region IV Administrator, Richard Braverman, Attorney Advisor (South Florida) and Mary Hernandez, Regional Manager (Exports). Topics discussed at the training revolved around 7a and 504 loans, as well as industry specific topics such as environmental reports, appraisals, and business valuations. The North Florida District and its lenders remain committed to helping small businesses succeed. |
 | | SBA South Florida District Office Francisco Marrero, District Director South Florida District Office is busy wrapping up our work in fiscal year 2013. Through our strategic alliance, the district office is working with the Florida 8(a) Alliance for a day-long workshop on federal contracting for small businesses new to federal contracting and 8(a) firms who have not received contracts. The conference will be a combination of workshops and networking with federal agencies and other 8(a) firms. It will be held Sept. 25, in Clearwater, Fla., at the Sheraton Sand Resort. Registration can be found HERE. Support to military veterans and veteran-owned business is also prominent on our calendar as Veterans Day approaches. The district supported the 13th Annual Veterans Conference hosted by the Florida SBDC at Brevard County Community College in Melbourne, Fla. on Sept. 18. This is the first of more than a half dozen district events, in addition to the Boots to Business program, designed to help veterans start and expand their own small business. |
 | | SBA Georgia District Office Terri Denison, District Director
The GA District Office and AARP team up again for the Life@50+. Life@50+ National Event and Expo showcases everything AARP does through engaging educational sessions and fun activities featuring world-class speakers and entertainers. The Fall 2013 event will be held in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center October 3-5, 2013. The Georgia District Office will be in attendance at this fun-filled event highlighting the programs and services available from the SBA locally and nationally. www.sba.gov/ga |
 | | SBA Kentucky District Office Ralph Ross, District Director SBA's Kentucky District Office is presenting information on the Affordable Care Act across Kentucky this fall in conjunction with AARP, Kentucky's Healthcare Exchange, and other regional healthcare and economic development agencies. SBA's Kentucky District Office will present information on how the Affordable Care Act affects you, your small business, and your employees as well as small business resources for the Affordable Care Act. Kentucky Healthcare Exchange Kynectors will be onsite to enroll attendees, and other healthcare and economic development agencies will be available to answer your questions. All events are free to the public and will be from 4:00 – 7:00 pm in October and November in Owensboro, Louisville, Hazard, Mt. Sterling, Lexington and Hopkinsville, and other locations may be offered later. Registration is requested. Call 1-877-926-8300 to reserve a seat and to find locations and agencies participating. You may also go to www.sba.gov/ky and look in the "Find Events and Workshops in Your Area" section of the website. |
 | | SBA Mississippi District Office Janita Stewart, District Director Lance P. Foster, Economic Development Specialist in the SBA Gulfport Office, has been selected as the new Branch Manager for the U.S. Small Business Administration in Gulfport, Mississippi. As Branch Manager, Mr. Foster will be responsible for the distribution and promotion of the agency's economic development programs and counseling services to Mississippi's 12 most southern counties. Foster has been with the SBA since March 2006, formally holding the titles of Senior Lender Relations Specialist, Veterans Officer, and Administrative Officer in the SBA Boise District Office. As a veteran and business owner, Foster takes great pride in helping promote the dreams of small-business ownership. Foster is a graduate of Kaplan University earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Information Systems. He also holds an Associate's degree in Computer Technology and studied Commercial Law at Boise State University. |
 | | SBA North Carolina District Office Lynn Douthett, District Director In August 2013, the SBA North Carolina District collaborated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to host webinars on the new E-Verify System for North Carolina Employers. E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility. E-Verify is a voluntary program for most employers, but mandatory for some, such as employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that contain the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause. Also, employers in certain states, that have legislation that mandates the use of E-Verify. As of July 1, 2013, employers with 25 or more employees are required to enroll in E-Verify to verify new hires. The DHS has information on their E-Verify website to help firms enroll and become familiar with the program. Click HERE. Businesses selling to the U.S. Government can access the DHS web site E-Verify for Federal Contractors. FAR requirements for some contracts contain E-Verify provisions. The firm needs to verify which contracts contain the E-Verify clause. Specific questions about compliance with E-Verify should be directed to the Agency Contracting Official. Want to learn more about E-Verify? Visit the DHS E-Verify webinar page HERE. |
 | | SBA South Carolina District Office Elliott Cooper, District Director Lately, the South Carolina District Office has been getting a little more tech-savvy. On August 20, South Carolina District Office staff learned about a new alternative to traditional small business financing: crowdfunding. Guest presenter Frank Knapp from the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce came to the District Office to discuss an online crowdfunding portal being developed specifically for South Carolina's small businesses. Expected to go live in late September, the portal will be the first – and currently only – of its kind in South Carolina. The portal will offer three crowdfunding options: donation-based crowdfunding, private placement investments (in which accredited high-income individuals invest in a business for an equity position), and security crowdfunding (in which any individual can make a relatively small investment for designated shares of a business). The District Office will be sure to stay on top of the state's crowdfunding developments in order to educate South Carolina entrepreneurs on all of their financing options. The South Carolina District Office may be a little more familiar about how to share that crowdfunding information via social media. On September 17, the District Office staff and several SCORE counselors received training on social media from Sue White, a social media expert and counselor with the SCORE Grand Strand Chapter in Myrtle Beach. |
 | | SBA Tennessee District Office Walter Perry, District Director SBA District Director Walter Perry, and Economic Development Specialist, Gloria Armstead, along with Veterans Business Development Officer, David Tiller, participated in the 2nd Annual Veterans Event, "Services to Those Who Have Served" in Kingsport. TSBDC participants included Aundrea Wilcox and Bob Justice; HUD also participated in the event, which included several breakout sessions. One of the sessions was convened by Many Bears Grinder, the first female Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. More than 100 persons attended the event, which was hosted by U.S. Congressman Phil Roe. Stay tuned for upcoming Veteran's events by visiting www.sba.gov/tn. |
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