SBA’s Monthly News Update-Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming-

Mick Ringsak’s Thoughts and Remarks

SBA has been an economic powerhouse since 1953. The month of May ushers in a special time here at the SBA. As most of you know, 2003 is the start of the SBA’s 50th anniversary. This year, SBA celebrates 50 years of promoting and protecting the interests of this nation’s small businesses. Across the nation, numerous events are planned to celebrate this great milestone. American small businesses — with their ingenuity, dedication and drive to succeed — have created millions of jobs and added billions of dollars to the tax base of their local communities. Along the way, SBA has played a vital role in the continued success of small business. A measure of small business success, and an embodiment of the American dream, is to build a small business into a large and thriving corporate entity. The roll call of once-small businesses that have followed their path, with the financial, contractual and business development assistance of the SBA, is a diverse collection of the country’s most respected Fortune 500 firms. The list of American business icons assisted by SBA includes Nike, Intel, Outback Steakhouse, FedEx, Office Depot and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. In short, the SBA has helped, and will continue to help small businesses grow far beyond their beginnings.

Since its inception in 1953, the SBA has helped over 20 million Americans start, grow and expand their business — placing tens of billions of dollars of direct or guaranteed loans into the hands of entrepreneurs in all sectors of the economy. The SBA’s 50th anniversary gives us a great opportunity to reflect on our history, and to plan a future that serves America’s small businesses better than ever. Over the next several months, I plan to give you a brief history of the SBA, explain where our agency is going over the next several months and years, talk about how small business has become center stage in the economic vitality of our nation, and highlight some of the activities planned across our region. Stay tuned – and yes, Happy Birthday SBA!

The Regional Advocate’s Corner by Jim Henderson

SBA’s Chief Counsel Supports Advocacy’s Independence. A Line Item Will Ensure Small Business Watchdog’s Effectiveness. Recently, there has been a discussion as to whether the SBA’s Office of Advocacy should become more independent through a separate budget line-item. A budget line-item will allow the federal government’s small business watchdog — the Office of Advocacy — the freedom it needs to protect small business. Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, recently delivered this message to several small-business oriented congressional committees. Sullivan cites the 1980 Regulatory Flexibility Act, the 1996 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act and President Bush’s Executive Order 13272 (Aug 2002) as granting his office the independence and flexibility to be both reactive and proactive on matters of concern to small business. The result of this early intervention was a cost savings to small businesses of $21 billion in fiscal year 2002 alone. The Office of Advocacy actions are independent of the views of the U.S. Small Business Administration and/or the administration. The long-term viability of the Office of Advocacy, however, depends on preserving this unique statutory mandate. Sullivan points out that under the current budget process Advocacy’s Chief Counsel must rely on the budget decisions of the SBA Administrator.

"To put it more bluntly, each year, the chief counsel must go hat-in-hand to SBA’s Administrator for a portion of SBA’s overall budget appropriation," testified Sullivan. "It is still my belief that a budget line item is the best and most efficient way to ensure that our office’s independence will last well beyond my tenure as chief counsel and ensure that government continues to be accountable to small business…"

On April 8, 2003 Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who chairs the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, introduced legislation (S. 818). This bill would strengthen the Office of Advocacy’s independence by in part establishing a separate line item for the Office of Advocacy complete separate from SBA’s annual budget. It is anticipated that Congressmen W. Todd Akin (R-MO.) and Edward Schrock (R-VA) will introduce similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Either bill would empower the Office of Advocacy to control its own budget, which in turn enables this office to work fearless and effectively on behalf of small business. Through their testimony in April 2003 small business owners, chambers of commerce and trade association expressed their support. Will they continue to see the need for a budget line item as critical to keeping a strong small business advocate within the executive branch of government? Will they remain resolute in supporting the one office is the federal government designed solely to be watchdog for their interests inside government? Their actions can have a profound impact on the future of the Office of Advocacy.

District Office Reports

Colorado

– SBA and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to hold their small business person of the year luncheon on Thursday, May 8th. The SBA will recognize its Small Business Person of the Year and Advocacy winners, and the chamber will announce its five winners at this event. Jeffrey D. Hancock, President, Rocky Mountain Nurses, Inc. is this year’s Colorado Small Business Person of the Year winner. This is the first year that the SBA and the chamber have combined their awards events. Tickets are still available by calling the chamber at 303-620-8045. Help support the small business community by attending this event.

Denver Small Business Development Center’s 4th Annual Trade Fair to be held June 6th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Atrium in Denver. There is no cost to attend. This event recognizes Denver SBDC’s remarkable clients, while enabling them to showcase their distinctive products and services. Forty exhibitors, featuring exciting businesses, will be at this event. For more information on this trade fair, please contact the SBDC at (303) 620-8076.

Montana

– Montana’s Small Business Week Awards Luncheon to be held Friday, May 30th in Helena. This event will pay tribute to 11 small business owners and advocates from Montana that have had an impact on the state’s small business community and economy. Tom Hoffman, President of Summit Aeronautics Group of Helena has been named Montana’s Small Business Person of the Year and will be among those honored at the celebration. U.S. Senator Conrad Burns nominated Summit for this award and will be in attendance at the luncheon, along with other dignitaries including SBA’s Regional Administrator Mick Ringsak. The theme of this year’s awards luncheon is "SBA: 50 Years as Montana’s Small Business Resource". For more information about this awards luncheon, or other 50th anniversary events, please contact the SBA’s Rena Carlson at (406) 441-1081.

North Dakota

– North Dakota Celebrates Small Business Week in style! The theme of this year’s event is "Small Business, Where America Works." The event schedule is as follows: May 6th, in Fargo, the Business Helps Business Conference will occur; May 20th, in Grand Forks, there will be a Chamber of Commerce event celebrating small business; finally, on May 23rd, in Bismarck, the Bismarck Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual "Celebrating Small Business: event downtown. Small Business Week recognizes outstanding small business owners for their personal achievements and contributions to North Dakota’s economy. This year’s North Dakota Small Business Person of the Year winner is Dennis Rohlfs, President, Executive Air Taxi Corp., in Bismarck. Numerous Advocate awards will also be presented during these celebrations. For more information, contact the SBA’s Marlene Koenig at (701) 239-5131 x 213.

South Dakota

– "Camp CEO", sponsored by the Girls Scouts of Minn-Ia-Kota and the University of Sioux Falls Center for Women will be held June 7-13th in Sioux Falls. Camp CEO is an innovative, one-week residential camp for young women from ages 15-20. The camp is designed to expose these young women to the world of business by igniting interest and encouraging professional development. For more information, contact Megan at the Center for Women Business Institute, (605) 331-6652.

Utah

– Celebrating Utah Week scheduled for May. The Utah District office, in conjunction with the Utah Business Resource Network, will Celebrate Utah Week, May 5 – 9th. An SBA 50th anniversary event and a Small Business Awards luncheon will kick-off the week. Celebrating Utah Week events are the following: Monday, May 5th, Celebrating 50 years and Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Tuesday, May 6th, Women’s Business Day Luncheon – "Risk Takers, 30 Women to Watch" to be held at the Little America Hotel from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm; Thursday, May 8th, Celebrate Free Enterprise Trailblazers Luncheon at the Salt Lake Community College Miller Campus from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm; Friday, May 9th, "Free" Enterprise and Resource Day" at the Salt Lake Community College – Metro Campus, 2nd floor from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon. For more information on these events, please contact the SBA’s Georgia Yoshida at (801) 524-3217.

Wyoming

– What can the Wyoming SBDC do for you? The Wyoming SBDC provides personalized consulting service to help entrepreneurs develop their business plans, weed out problems, find capital, brainstorm strategies and propel their businesses to a profitable future. SBDC consulting services are confidential and offered free of charge. The SBDC provides workshops, courses and conferences designed to provide information on specialized topics of interest to business owners. The SBDC network is linked to hundreds of resources. There are five regional offices serving the state of Wyoming. For more information on the Wyoming SBDC network, contact Diane Wolverton, State Director at (307) 766-3505 or email at [email protected].

Newsline Eight is circulated to our resource and lending partners by SBA’s Region Eight Office

721 19th Street, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80202.

Elton W. Ringsak, Regional Administrator

James R. Henderson, Regional Advocate

Christopher Chavez, Regional Communications Director

SBA: 50 Years as America’s Small Business Resource

Thank you for taking the time to read the May 2003 edition of Newsline Eight. Newsline Eight is the monthly newsletter from the SBA’s Region Eight Office in Denver. Our office covers the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. This month, Mick Ringsak gives an introduction to SBA’s 50th anniversary plans. Over 10,000 individuals across America receive Newsline Eight. We keep the format of our newsletter simple – easy to read, with timely and useful information.

If you have any questions, please contact the Region Eight Office at 303-844-0501.

Mick Ringsak, Regional Administrator

Jim Henderson, Regional Advocate

Chris Chavez, Regional Communications Director

2003 has been proclaimed the "Year of the Exporter" in Region VIII.

Would you like more information on how your firm can export?

Email us at [email protected]