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ASU Small Business and Technology Development
Center receives grant to assist veterans
Dec. 9, 2008 --
The Arkansas Congressional delegation has
announced that the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development
Center (ASBTDC) will receive a $93,405 grant through the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s Veterans Assistance and Services Program.
"Our servicemen and women and their families have sacrificed much to
help keep our nation safe," said U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln. "It is
essential that we do everything we can to provide for those who serve
our country, and this grant will help Arkansas veterans access resources
to help them achieve their goals for opening or maintaining a successful
small business. Not only will these funds help those who serve on our
behalf, they will also help strengthen Arkansas’s local economies."
"Arkansas veterans have given generously to our country. This funding is
one way we can honor their service and help foster success in their
business ventures. As a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I
will continue to strongly back initiatives that promote entrepreneurship
by our nation’s heroes," U.S. Senator Mark Pryor said.
"Arkansans who bravely serve our country have earned every opportunity
we can afford their success. These federal dollars will assist the
ASBTDC in empowering veterans and active duty service members with the
skills needed to open and grow small businesses in Arkansas
communities," said U.S. Representative Marion Berry, of Arkansas' First
District.
"Expanding opportunities for veterans is an important aspect of the
federal government’s responsibility to them for their service to our
nation," U.S. Representative John Boozman (AR-03) said. "This funding
will make our veterans more competitive and ensure they have access to
the tools they need to achieve their goals in the business world."
"Small businesses are the engines of our local economies, and this
investment is an investment in Arkansas’s future," said U.S.
Representative Mike Ross (AR-04). "By also helping out our troops
and veterans, we can give those who left their friends and family to
serve their country the opportunity to achieve the American dream with
the skills they need to successfully manage their own business."
The grant will help the center serve active, retired and reserve
military personnel who are small business owners or aspiring
entrepreneurs. ASBTDC will utilize sophisticated communication
technologies to reach Arkansas veterans living in the state as well as
those serving on active duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other far-flung
locations.
The center will provide online consulting and educational services
tailored to Arkansas veterans. A Web portal ASBTDC is creating will
serve as a hub for services. The portal will host ASBTDC’s
veteran-specific distance learning programs and will also offer blogs,
discussion forums, audio and video streaming, content syndication and
news. Online training will detail pre-deployment and post-deployment
activities for business owners. Four webinars
– live online seminars
– are planned
over the next year on starting a business and writing a business plan.
"Through the use of web technology, we will be able to assist more
active, reserve and retired veterans with their existing businesses and
business starts, whether they live in rural Arkansas or serve on foreign
soil," said Janet Roderick, state director of the Arkansas Small
Business and Technology Development Center.
Conducting the online consulting and webinars will be Herb Lawrence,
director of the ASBTDC regional office at Arkansas State University. An
Army veteran, Lawrence has worked closely with the Arkansas National
Guard and other military groups to provide consulting and other business
services and helped develop the ASBTDC’s Arkansas National Guard
Business Mobilization Guide.
Established in 1980, the Arkansas Small Business and Technology
Development Center program is a partnership of the SBA (Small Business
Administration) and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of
Business. In addition to the lead center at UALR and office at ASU,
other regional offices are located at Henderson State University,
Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville,
University of Arkansas –
Fort Smith and University of Arkansas at Monticello College of
Technology in McGehee.
All services, which include consulting, research and training, are
available at low or no cost through ASBTDC’s partnership with the SBA
and higher education institutions across Arkansas. For more information,
contact Herb Lawrence, ASU
SBTDC, at hlawrenc@astate.edu, or Gwen
Green, gagreen@ualr.edu, (501) 683-7700.
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