 | | Cassius Butts Regional Administrator U.S. Small Business Administration |
As the voice for our nation's entrepreneurs, we at the SBA celebrate small businesses daily. When our small businesses do well, our communities do well. Therefore, as part of our annual tradition, we are asking you to join millions of Americans and shop small on Small Business Saturday, November 29th, to complete your holiday shopping. Small businesses represent the dynamic demographics of the United States, encompassing everyone from your family-owned small businesses to your neighborhood's recently opened specialty boutique or traditional manufacturer. Shopping small allows your community to advocate for your local small businesses that are adding jobs and diversity to your neighborhood's main street 365 days a year. When we shop small, we're contributing to and saluting our unique local small businesses, elevating their small business potential. This is crucial as small businesses are engines to our economy, creating two out of every three net new private sector jobs. Last year, Small Business Saturday significantly empowered our small business owners. Consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday spent an estimated $5.7 billion with independent merchants. In addition to shopping, you can further participate in Small Business Saturday with these steps: - If you're a business owner, you can also make sure you're prepared for the holiday season by checking out SBA's advice at http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinesssaturday.
- If you're a customer rally your community to shop small and while you're at it, take part in Small Business Saturday® on social media using the hashtag #SmallBizSat to amplify your support for America's small businesses, the backbone of the U.S. economy.
I know I'll be shopping and dining at small businesses with my friends and family on Saturday, November 29th, so gather your neighbors and colleagues to shop small on Small Business Saturday.  Lending Is looking Better Thank Ever: 2014 Was a great year For Small Business!The U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Program reached another lending record in FY 2014, announced today by SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet. By the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30), SBA had approved 52,044 7(a) loans for $19.19 billion, an increase of 12 percent in number loans and 7.4 percent in dollar amount over fiscal year 2013. The 7(a) program is designed to provide small businesses with the most comprehensive type of financial assistance to cover the vast majority of business expenses, such as short and long-term working capital, exports, and refinancing existing debt under certain conditions. > Read more  | | Tom Todt, District Director SBA Alabama District Office Alabama District Director Tom Todt addresses the 55 attendees to the first annual Northeast Alabama Regional Business Summit. The November 5 event, sponsored by the Calhoun County, Cleburne County, Gadsden/Etowah County Chambers of Commerce and the Randolph County Economic Development Authority, was held at the Civilian Marksmanship Program building in Anniston. In addition to Todt, presenters included Rick Brown, President of the Alabama Retail Association, and a panel of local business owners, who discussed their experiences starting and maintaining small businesses in the region. |
L to R: Linda Hearn, Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, Rick Brown, Alabama Retail Association, Tanya Maloney, Cleburne County Chamber of Commerce, Cotina Terry, Randolph County Economic Development Authority, Jacki Lynn Thacker, Alabama Power Company, Amy Anderson, JSU Small Business Development Center, Tom Todt, SBA
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Photo courtesy Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce  | | Wilfredo J. Gonzalez, District Director SBA North Florida District Office The North Florida District signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with Orange Couny Florida on November 6, 2014. Mayor Theresa Jacobs signed the SAM for the County and Wilfredo J. Gonzalez, North Florida District Director signed the SAM on behalf of Cassius Butts, SBA Region IV Administrator. "We realize how vital it is for our economy, citizens and community to help small businesses achieve success," Mayor Jacobs said. "These entrepreneurs are what help make Orange County such a wonderful fruitful place to live and work. SBA does a fantastic job of helping provide the stepping stones for small businesses to flourish." "It is a top priority for this Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration to strategically align with our community partners and local governments to better serve our small business communities. I am pleased beyond words to witness this historic strategic partnership between the SBA and Orange County. I commend Mayor Teresa Jacobs for her commitment to small business and to the entrepreneurial opportunities she supports every day," says Cassius Butts, Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration. |
Pictured: Orange County Mayor Theresa Jacobs and SBA North Florida District Director Wilfredo J. Gonzalez | |  |
SBA as a strategic partner of the U.S. Department of Transportation Bonding Education Program (BEP) works with surety-related organizations, as well as the designated prime contractors, to help small businesses become bond ready. Becoming bondable is a challenge for many small businesses, and the BEP program aims to help disadvantaged businesses grow by obtaining or building bonding capacity. SBA explained to participants how to go about to request a surety bond guarantee, the various programs for access to capital, business education and training thru in-house and external resource partners, as well as federal procurement opportunities and certification to qualified disadvantaged, women-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. The Interstate (I-4) expansion project, which is expected to be completed by 2020, will provide expanded lane capacity as well as toll-lanes between East Central Florida from Daytona Beach, all the way to Tampa. This expansion will require the State and local governments to provide operations and maintenance support for at least 20 years, so this project will exceed the current $2.3 Billion investment by several orders of magnitude.  | | Pictured in the photo, Ed Ramos, SBA Senior Area Manager for Orlando, addresses a classroom of BEP participants on SBA financial programs. |
 | | Pancho Marrero, District Director SBA South Florida District Office The South Florida District Office held several events throughout the district to celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week Nov. 3 – 7; seminars were held in Tampa and Palm Bay, FL and a webinar was also held to introduce veterans to the steps for entrepreneurship. On November 19th, the inaugural Emerging Leaders Miami class will graduate during a ceremony at the SBDC @ FIU Brickell Campus. Thirteen business owners will graduate with a 3-year growth plan to help them take their business to the next level. The South Florida District Office will take part in Small Business Saturday with the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce on November 29th. Small Business Saturday was started several years ago to promote shopping (and dining) at local small businesses between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The South Florida District staff wishes all our clients, partners, lenders and the nation's small businesses a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! |
 | | Terri Denison, District Director SBA Georgia District Office AARP Georgia and the SBA Georgia District Office are joining for an "Encore Entrepreneur" event on Tuesday, December 2, 9:00 am to noon. This program, geared towards prospective business owners 50 years old and beyond, will offer information, resources and tools to start a home-based business. Other key participants include the SCORE Atlanta Chapter, Georgia State University Small Business Development Center, and Home-Based Business Chamber of Commerce. The event location is 999 Peachtree St NE in midtown Atlanta, 5th Floor Conference Room. For more information and registration, please click here. |
 | | Ralph Ross, District Director SBA Kentucky District Office The Kentucky SBA Lenders Association held its annual Reception and Conference November 20 and 21. Attendees included SBA lenders from across the state, SBA Resource Providers (SBDC, SCORE and the Women's Business Center), credit unions, economic development organizations and SBA employees. Lender awards were presented for SBA loans for top performing community and national/regional banks, CDC/504 lenders and microlenders. The association also acknowledged individual loan officers for their outstanding achievements and named them to the Kentucky SBA All-Star Team. The keynote speaker was Ron Crouch, Director of Research and Statistics for the Kentucky Education & Workforce Development Cabinet. Breakout sessions featured Rick Nord from the U.S. Secret Service, who addressed bank fraud; Mike Shepherd with JP Morgan Chase, who reviewed major changes to the government guaranteed loan programs; Paul Santomauro from FRANdata, who talked about franchising; and Sandro Murtas with the SBA Export Solutions Group and Robert Coffey from the SBA Kentucky District Office, who spoke about SBA export loan programs and opportunities. Panelists discussed the 504 and microloan programs, and Ralph Ross, SBA Kentucky District Director, welcomed attendees. Success stories were also featured. In 2014, SBA loans in Kentucky increased by almost 7% over the previous year, amounting to 691 loans for over $158 million. |
FY 2014 SBA Lender Award Winners Loan# Dollar Value 7(a) Loan Numbers-Community Bank Award Recipients: Community Trust Bank, Inc., Pikeville 84 $14,245,100 Traditional Bank, Inc., Mt. Sterling 19 $ 7,108,100 Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co., Louisville 14 $ 1,322,900 7(a) Loan Numbers-National Bank Award Recipients: U.S. Bank National Association 101 $20,347,900 The Huntington National Bank 80 $ 6,552,200 JPMorgan Chase Bank NA 28 $ 9,335,500 CDC/504 Award Recipent: Capital Access Corporation, Louisville 11 $ 7,839,000 Total 504 loans for the Kentucky District Office: 35 $24,148,000 Microloan Award Recipients: Community Ventures Corporation, Lexington 81 $ 455,640 Total Microloans for SBA Kentucky District Office 149 $ 2,061,370  | | Janita Stewart, District Director SBA Mississippi District Office SBA Lending to Mississippi Small Businesses up in FY 2014 In Fiscal Year 2014, the SBA Mississippi District Office approved a total of 412 7(a) and 504 loans totaling $153.3 million. "This surpasses the $138.8 million approved in fiscal year 2013 by more than $14.5 million (11%) and is extremely significant for small businesses in our state," says Janita R. Stewart, SBA Mississippi District Director. "We play a vital role in enabling small businesses to get the capital they need to start and grow their businesses, create jobs and build communities." Of the loans approved, 188 (46%) totaling almost $79.58 million were provided to new businesses and 224 (54%) totaling more than $73.7 million were to existing businesses. A total of 3,321 jobs were created and retained as a result of these loans. "This could not have happened without the participation of our various lending partners," Stewart said." The SBA Mississippi District Office had seventeen new lenders that participated during fiscal year 2014.The top five SBA lenders in terms of "largest number of loans approved" for FY 2014 included Community Bank of Mississippi; First Financial Bank; Covington County Bank; Trustmark National Bank and BancorpSouth. The top five lenders in terms of "highest dollar volume of loans approved" are Community Bank; Live Oak Banking; First Financial Bank; BancorpSouth; and Peoples Bank. Under the SBA's 504 Loan Program, the top Certified Development Company is Three Rivers Local Development Co., Inc. for "largest number of loans" and "highest dollar volume of loans". The top Third Party Lender is Renasant Bank. In FY 2014, almost 56% of the numbers of loans backed were to Underserved Markets. The Underserved Markets includes a diverse mix of small businesses located in low-to-moderate income areas, HUBZones, rural areas, enterprise communities, empowerment zones, as well as businesses owned by veterans, minorities and women. "Access to capital is the key element for small businesses to grow and prosper," said Stewart. "It helps keep Mississippi's economy strong. SBA will continue to get capital into the hands of the small business community." |
SBA Participates in DOD Industry Day The SBA Mississippi District Office participated in the Department of Defense Industry Day conference on November 6, 2014 in Biloxi, Mississippi. The conference focused on informing small businesses about contracting opportunities within the shipbuilding industry along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Mississippi District Office provided participants throughout the day with information and assistance regarding SBA's catalog of programs and services. Mississippi District Director Janita Stewart gave a keynote address to the 150 attendees that emphasized current market trends as well as the core benefits of SBA's contracting programs. (Top Left) Janita Stewart, MS District Director (Top Right) Alice Doss, MS Supervisory Business Opportunity Specialist; Vallery Brumfield, Louisiana District Office Lender Relations Specialist; Gail Brogan, Louisiana District Office Business Opportunity Specialist; Janita Stewart, MS District Director; Gary Reed, MS Deputy District Director and Lance Foster, Gulfport Branch Manager (Bottom Left) Conference Participants (Bottom Right) Conference Participants. | |  |
 | | Lynn Douthett, District Director SBA North Carolina District Office Lumbee Tribe Enterprises LLC, (LTE) of Pembroke, North Carolina was recently awarded 8(a) status. The company is an IT firm which is wholly owned by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina - NC's largest tribe and first tribal company in NC's 8(a) program. Representatives of the firm participated in 8(a) Orientation on Monday, October 27, 2014 at the NC District Office in Charlotte. |
(L to R): Bob Tarleton, SBA Business Opportunity Specialist; Tribal Member; Gregg Locklear, Tribal Member; Bosco Locklear, Vice President, Lumbee Tribe Holdings; Tammy Maynor, LTE Board Member; Joe Ann Shaeffers, SBA Business Opportunity Specialist; Ron Oxendine, LTE Chief Operating Officer; Edward Brooks, LTE Corporate Lawyer and SBA District Director Lynn Douthett | |  |
 | | Elliott Cooper, District Director SBA South Carolina District Director The South Carolina District Office is fortunate to have a couple of new faces: interns Kia Frazier and Cassius Moore, both of Benedict College--a historically black college in Columbia. The SBA's internship program with Benedict developed as part of the SBA-Benedict College Strategic Alliance Memorandum that was signed October 30, 2013, in order to better serve entrepreneurial needs both on and off campus. "The internship program makes our alliance with Benedict tangible—It shows that our agreement is not just a piece of paper," said Gregg White, deputy district director of the South Carolina District Office. Intern Cassius Moore is a junior majoring in accounting. During her time at SBA, she has interviewed several successful small business owners and written success stories about their experiences. Recently, she has been assisting the Lender Relations division. "During my internship, I've learned what it really takes to start a small business and what makes a business successful," Cassius says. "I've also learned a lot about the lending and contracting fields, and about the different processes you have to go through to get a business started." Intern Kia Frazier, who will graduates from Benedict in December with a degree in business management, was attracted to the SBA internship because she someday wants to start a business of her own. "I wanted to use my SBA internship to understand how businesses are run," she says. "I also wanted to see what the SBA offers small businesses." Lately, Kia has been helping the Business Opportunity division organize a system to better organize the firms participating in the SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program. "The interns are learning the ins and outs of small business right now," Gregg says. "But with the fresh perspective they bring, we're learning as much from them as they're learning from us." |
 | | Walter Perry, District Director SBA Tennessee District Director The Tennessee District has topped over 100 graduates in its Memphis Emerging Leaders program with the graduation of 15 small business owners on November 5. This marks the seventh class of Emerging Leaders, a program for existing businesses to prepare growth plans for their businesses enabling growth to their bottom line. Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, Jr. offered remarks to the graduates in ceremonies held at Southwest Tennessee Community College, who sponsored the 2014 initiative along with the City of Memphis and Shelby County Government. To highlight the Affordable Care Act, the Tennessee District Director presented the Small Business Health Options Program to navigators at a regional training event sponsored by the Delta Regional Authority in Memphis on November 6 in support of SBA's efforts to provide small business owners information on opportunities to offer health insurance to employees. Additionally, the Tennessee District participated in an October 27 meeting in partnership with the General Services Administration's Sunbelt Region to inform the Downtown Memphis Commission on federal contracting programs, a meeting convened by the Memphis Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative of the White House. In support of women entrepreneurship, the District presented Felicia Teddleton, owner of Felicia-Bella Inc., the 2014 Woman Owned Small Business of the Year Award for the Tennessee District in a ceremony with customers and employees of this women's clothing business, which from its rural Rutherford, Tennessee origins, has both an on-line presence and four stores in West Tennessee. |
The Tennessee District also presented a Government Contracting Workshop for Veterans on November 11 featuring presentations from the National Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, General Services Administration and Army Corps of Engineers – Nashville District, an event that was promoted on local radio station WFSK-FM in Nashville. As a part of Global Entrepreneurship week, the District will host Nashville lenders on November 18 so they may learn of how SBA's 90% loan guarantee for international trade loans may benefit their clients who are exporting Tennessee products around the globe. | | |
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