Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 1, 1990 TAG: 9005010101
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A financial analyst will be hired soon to help small businesses with loan applications, projections and business decisions, said Thom Robinson, executive vice president of the chamber. More than 100 people applied for the job and interviews are scheduled for five finalists.
The program, to serve Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Henry, Patrick and Roanoke counties and the cities of Martinsville, Salem and Roanoke, will be an expansion of the chamber's Small Business Center, headed by Sheila Trunzo. A state grant of $60,000 will be added to $80,000 provided by the chamber.
Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke and Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville will support the center. A satellite office is planned for Martinsville when funds permit.
This will be a major service, Robinson said, since 97 percent of the businesses in this area have 100 or fewer employees. The chamber will administer and staff the program and provide office space, equipment and supplies.
The center will provide instructors and space for seminars and workshops, as well as access to a regional data base. Some help will come from the Service Corps of Retired Executives, the Roanoke Valley Graduate Center and Roanoke College.
Roanoke will have the state's sixth such center, Gov. Douglas Wilder said Monday. Others were set up last year at Richmond, Charlottesville, Farmville, Harrisonburg and Hampton Roads. The General Assembly allocated $500,000 to start the program under the Small Business and Financial Services office of the state Department of Economic Development.
Richard Lynn, president of the Roanoke chamber, said his organization is dedicated to the growth of the small business community and it shares the state's objectives of creating more jobs and expanding the area economy.
by CNB