Last week I had the privilege of working in western North Carolina with Scott Daugherty, North Carolina’s first Commissioner for Small Business, a position created by Gov. Bev Perdue to serve as an advocate for small business within state government and to coordinate and maximize the state resources available to those businesses.
Scott impressed me immediately with his emphasis on the word for in his title Commissioner for Small Business. Priorities show in that detail.
On Monday, Scott and I met in Morganton and toured the new Foothills Allied Healthcare Facility. This renovated factory houses a collaborative effort in Burke County, bringing together the teaching efforts of Western Piedmont Community College, Lees-McCrae, Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University. Together they provide higher levels of education and training in allied healthcare at this large site.
On Tuesday, Scott and I began with an early visit to AB Tech Community College in Asheville. We were joined by Wendy Cagle, Director of the Western Division of the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), and met with President Hank Dunn on the college campus. We focused much of our time on addressing the local small business needs and discussing ways that local and state programs could cooperate to meet those needs.
Next Wendy and I joined the Commissioner in his meeting with Terry Bellamy, the Mayor of Asheville. We discussed the difficulties that small businesses have had in this economy, both in starting and maintaining success. The four of us discussed the benefits of Scott’s work to help streamline many of the small business assistance programs.
Later in the morning, we traveled on to Brevard to Transylvania Vocational Services. TVS provides manufacturing and vocational services. Many of the workers face challenging disabilities, and at TVO they are able to work and enjoy the fulfillment that work brings. We met with Nancy Stricker, executive director, and Jack Parker, the Board Chair for the non-profit company. We continued our line of discussion from earlier in the day, talking about local needs and various services for small businesses. We also addressed some of the special needs and challenges TVO faces, and we left the meeting with plans to continue working on these issues. Following the meeting, we were fortunate to take a tour of the remarkable facility. We were impressed by the level of high-tech equipment on site to assist in the packaging of the dry milk and pancake mix products. As the picture of Wendy shows, the volume is daunting.
Many thanks to Commissioner Scott Daugherty for his time and hard work on behalf of small businesses, both in the west and statewide. If you have questions related to small business assistance, please contact your local SBTDC office at 1.800.258.0862 or go to the website at http://www.sbtdc.org/.