 | Cassius F. ButtsRegional AdministratorU.S. Small Business Administration | | Did you miss the Inaugural SBA State of the Region Address? You can watch it on SBA's You Tube Channel: Click Here | Connect with us on social media.@SBASoutheast | | | |  | | SBA Alabama District OfficeTom Todt, District DirectorThis month, Regional Administrator Cassius F. Butts and Alabama District Director Tom Todt spent time with Birmingham leadership during a press conference to highlight the continuation of the Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) between the City of Birmingham and the SBA. The SAM has been in effect since September 14, 2013 and includes community outreach and small business counseling at Birmingham City Hall through SCORE. Also highlighted was the advent of the Emerging Leaders Initiative in Birmingham this year. |
L to R: Birmingham Mayor William Bell, Regional Administrator Cassius F. Butts, City Councilman and Chair of the Economic Development Committee Marcus Lundy and Alabama District Director Tom Todt | |  |
 | | SBA North Florida District OfficeWilfredo J. Gonzalez, District Director
The North Florida District Office is currently participating in a 7-week business education series with Bethune-Cookman University (BCU) in Daytona Beach, Florida. The training covers start-up basics, financing, marketing strategies, business planning, and resources in the community to help support growth. The program will end with a certificate for the business owners who complete all 7 trainings. The training is available to students and members of the community. The certificate program will also be conducted in partnership with Edward Waters College (EWC) in Jacksonville, Florida starting in March 2015. For more information about the March training or to register, contact Dr. Francis Ikeokwu, Sr., CFC at fikeokwu@ewc.edu. Both training sessions will be repeated over a course of 2 years. |
Graduates from Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL | |  |
 | | SBA South Florida District OfficeFrancisco "Pancho" Marrero, District Director South Florida District continues to forge new partnerships to reach more entrepreneurs and small business owners in our community. In addition to the three strategic alliances signed last month, we signed another with the National Association of Women Business Owners Miami Chapter on Feb. 9. These are key to our district engagement plans.
Exporting and the resources available are part of an expo the South Florida District will be participating in on Feb. 20 in Miami, the event is sponsored by MBDA Business Center, the US Commercial Service and Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, who will also be the keynote speaker.
Preparations are in full swing for what looks like a busy March/April. We are working with our SBDC at Florida International University on a veteran entrepreneurship and our Miami Emerging Leaders class. We are also looking to support a headquarters initiative to partner with LGBT chambers of commerce. |
SBA South Florida Deputy District Director Jonel Hein and NAWBO Miami Chapter President Jennifer Ohl signed a strategic alliance memorandum (SAM) on Feb. 9, which will remain in effect for two years. | |  |
 | | SBA Georgia District OfficeTerri Denison, District Director The Georgia District has signed a cosponsorship agreement with U. S. Congressman John Lewis. The agreement will result in a series of events hosted by SBA and Congressman Lewis. The first was a program overview of SBA lending, training, counseling and federal contracting programs at the East Atlanta Public Library that was held on February 18. A similar overview program will be conducted in Clayton County and a program on procurement and certifications will be held in Decatur later this Spring. SBA lenders, the Georgia Small Business Development Center and SCORE Atlanta will be participating in the events. Mr. Lewis represents Georgia's fifth Congressional District that includes portions of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton Counties. He was first elected to the Congress in 1986. |
 | | SBA Kentucky District OfficeRalph Ross, District Director SBA Kentucky District Director Ralph Ross attended multiple small business events throughout the state in February. He attended the 2015 SOAR (Shaping Our Appalachian Region) Strategy Summit in Pikeville on February 16. The summit focused on regional strategies for growth and development in the SOAR area, which includes 73 counties in southern and eastern Kentucky. Last year, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the expansion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's StrikeForce Initiative into four more states, including Kentucky. "The StrikeForce strategy of partnering public resources with local expertise is helping to grow rural economies and create jobs in persistent poverty communities," said Vilsack. Attendees included community leaders, economic development specialists, educators, elected officials, employers, entrepreneurs, government employees, non-profit organization employees and students. On February 24, Ross attended the 16th Annual Women's Symposium in Prestonsburg, KY, hosted by the Morehead State University SBDC. The symposium focused on fostering women's business ownership, with an emphasis self-employment for women, tools to improve business decisions, enhancement of business operations and economic development through entrepreneurship. Mr. Ross also spoke at the Minority Business Roundtable luncheon, entitled "Recognizing America's Job Creators," on February 26 at the Muhammad Ali Museum in Louisville. Last year, SBA signed a SAM with the Minority Business RoundTable, which has a mission to serve as a voice for minority CEOs in the U.S.; advance opportunities for minority entrepreneurs; promote greater economic participation for minorities; and inform and influence public policies on issues important to the minority business community. |
 | | SBA Mississippi District OfficeJanita Stewart, District Director The SBA Mississippi District Office is extremely pleased to announce Jeremy Sanford, Intern Student has been converted to an Economic Development Specialist. Jeremy participated in the Career Pathways to Federal Employment Program. He worked six years with the Mississippi District Office while pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting/Finance and a Masters of Public Accountancy at Jackson State University. District Director Janita Stewart says, "Jeremy has proven to be an asset to our district and branch office operations since he first came on board as a summer hire almost 7 years ago. Throughout this timeframe, he attended Jackson State University, a local HBCU, and worked in the district office during the summer and Christmas school breaks. He subsequently was transitioned into the STEP and SCEP as a Student Hire, and worked a few hours several days a week after classes. He earned dual bachelor degrees in Finance and Accounting in 2012 and he was approved for the Pathways to Federal Employment Program, continuing to work in the district office several days a week, and went on to complete all requirements for his MPA as well as the Pathways Program." Stewart further states that "oftentimes you tend to instinctively know when someone is going to be the right fit for a job, and Jeremy certainly has demonstrated just that with his willingness to learn, discipline, consistently jumping in and contributing as a real team player, excellent communication and personal interaction skills, and more. In my opinion, Jeremy represents "the best of the best" of the new/future federal workforce, and we are proud that he is a product of our office and our state." Congratulations Jeremy! |
Welcome, Jeremy Sanford,Economic Development Specialist, to the SBA Mississippi District Office Team | |  |
 | | SBA North Carolina District OfficeLynn Douthett, District Director The North Carolina District Office is pleased to announce the arrival of our new Program Support Assistant (PSA), Erin Connell. As PSA, she will support all divisions in the district in the delivery of SBA Programs throughout the state including the 8(a) Business Development Division which assists 8(a) certified firms statewide. Born in Schenectady NY, Erin enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in April 1984. She retired from the guard in 2010 after 26 years, and subsequently worked as a civilian contractor. She relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2013. Erin has 2 children, daughter McKenzie age 23 and son Shane age 21. We welcome Erin and are excited to have her as a part of SBA North Carolina team. |
The SBA welcomes Erin Connell, Program Support Assistant, to the SBA North Carolina District Office team! | |  |
 | | SBA South Carolina District OfficeElliott Cooper, District Director On Friday, January 30, District Director Elliott Cooper, Deputy District Director Gregg White and Lowcountry/Coastal Senior Area Manager William Furman participated in "Preparing for the Unexpected: Area Business Disaster Recovery Symposium" in Myrtle Beach, an event sponsored by the City of Myrtle Beach, the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and Horry County Emergency Management. With over 150 participants, the symposium helped area businesses learn how to plan for any type of interruption. Topics included business interruption insurance, preparing for extreme weather events, emergency funding and business continuity planning, which featured guest speaker Mark Ihenacho of the SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center East. During the Director Cooper, Deputy Director White and Area Manager Furman also discussed SBA's Disaster Loan Program at SBA's exhibit table, where attendees learned about the wide variety of financing assistance SBA offers not only to businesses, but also to non-profits and individuals, to help them recover. |
SBA South Carolina District Office participates in the "Preparing for the Unexpected: Area BusinessDisaster Recovery Symposium" in Myrtle Beach, | |  |
 | | SBA Tennessee District OfficeWalter Perry, District Director In SBA lending, statewide totals to date for FY 15 (October-January) are at $113 million compared to $50 million one year ago, demonstrating that both lenders and borrowers are seeing how SBA loans can be used successfully to start or expand a business. The District also welcomes two new 8(a) Business Development Program participants, Corbrook LLC of Nashville and People First Communications of Memphis. As highlighted, recruitment for Emerging Leaders is underway through March 13 for participants in both Nashville and Memphis. Interested businesses that have at least $400K in revenue, been in business 3 years and have at least one other employee than self are encouraged to apply for the 17 slots available in each city with no cost to the participant. |
 | | The Tennessee District supported Regional Administrator Cassius Butts' State of the Region Address on February 2 with over 30 resource partners at the District Office learning about SBA activities in Region IV and the new Nashville Emerging Leaders initiative. The Regional Administrator also supported outreach for the Affordable Care Act with an appearance on radio station WFSK-FM in Nashville on February 5 where the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) was discussed for small business employers seeking to provide health insurance. |
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