ASU SBTDC wins top awards at Spring Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center network meeting
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) at Arkansas State University was recently honored for its outstanding service to small businesses at ASBTDC’s statewide meeting in Little Rock.
The center received the customer satisfaction award, and staff members received four individual employee excellence awards for achievements in 2011. The awards, based on ASBTDC’s key goals, honored the top performers among the seven ASBTDC offices in the state.
Laura Miller, lead business consultant at the ASU ASBTDC, won honors in two categories. For the second consecutive year, Miller received the Start-Up Star award for assisting the most business starts. She worked with 13 businesses that opened in 2011. She was also recognized in the Excellence in Capital Formation category, along with Robert Bahn, ASU ASBTDC business consultant.
Based on the dollar amount of loans and other forms of capital the staff members helped their small business clients attain in a calendar year, ASBTDC designates three “club” levels of capital formation recognition – $1 million, $2.5 million and $5 million. Miller achieved $2.5 million club status, while Bahn was part of the $1 million club. Together, the pair assisted clients in obtaining over $6 million in capital last year.
Herb Lawrence received the Top-Notch Trainer award. Lawrence coordinates and leads the ASU ASBTDC training program while also serving as center director.
“These honors are well deserved and mark another outstanding year for the Arkansas State University ASBTDC. Herb Lawrence and his team are leaders in our network, and I am proud of their excellent service to the small businesses of northeast Arkansas and the positive economic impact they help generate in the region,” said Janet Roderick, ASBTDC state director.
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business and other institutions of higher education, the ASBTDC offers consulting, training and market research to Arkansas small businesses. As the state’s premier business assistance provider, the ASBTDC serves new, existing and innovation-based businesses statewide. To learn more, visit asbtdc.org.
Located in the Delta Center for Economic Development, the ASU center serves 15 counties: Baxter, Clay, Craighead, Cross, Fulton, Green, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, Sharp and Stone. Contact the ASU ASBTDC at (870) 972-3517.
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