South Carolina's Third Annual Salute to Small Business Event to Showcase South Carolina Employers
South Carolina's Third Annual Salute to Small Business Event to Showcase South Carolina Employers
COLUMBIA, S.C., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Coalition for Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and the U.S. Small Business Administration have joined together to present the Third Annual Salute to Small Business April 18 at the Columbia Marriott Hotel. In addition to providing a forum for South Carolina small businesses to exhibit their products and services and meet one-on-one with state legislators and large corporations, the U.S. Small Business Administration will announce the state's Small Business Person of the Year award.
The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Small businesses will exhibit their products and explain how South Carolina's economic development organizations have helped them expand their product lines and revenues. The event brings legislators in contact with their small business constituents and provides them a chance to speak one-on-one. In addition, small businesses will have the opportunity to meet with large corporations and government agencies that are potential customers. So far, the large corporations that are participating include Palmetto Health, Washington Savannah River Company, and Duke Cogema Webster & Stone.
Companies can register in one of three ways: by logging on to www.scmep.org or www.scchamber.net or by calling event planner Donna Croom at (803) 749-9011.
"The 'Salute to Small Business' is an expression of our support for the almost 200,000 small businesses in South Carolina," says John Lenti, chairman of the S.C. Coalition for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. "We only wish we could have them all at the 'Salute' to demonstrate to the General Assembly the importance of small business in South Carolina's economy."
"When I think of small businesses, I think of 'the little engine that could.' Small businesses power our economy in so many powerful ways, and they do so quietly and with few accolades," said S. Hunter Howard Jr., president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. "Small businesses quietly create the majority of jobs in South Carolina, contributing significantly to our productivity and competitiveness. If America is the land of opportunity, South Carolina must strive to be the land of opportunism, fertile soil that is carefully cultivated by small businesses, which have the wherewithal to recognize innovation and take needed risks that will grow their own enterprise and the economy as a whole."
"We are an employee-owned company and as such, we strongly feel the need to support our state's economic development. We have attended this event the past two years and it has helped us develop our sales and marketing approach as well as exposing our products and services to other in-state companies," said Andy Graven, president of Zenith Engraving Company and Custom Printed Fabrics.
About S.C. Coalition for Small Business & Entrepreneurship
The Coalition, comprising not-for-profit organizations, as well as state and federal agencies, is designed to support entrepreneurs, small business start-ups, and existing businesses, including those in rural South Carolina and woman- or minority-owned firms. The Coalition provides small businesses with a group of services designed to increase their competitiveness in the global market. In addition, the Coalition is designed to increase wealth and job creation across the state. With the support of Governor Mark Sanford and the state legislature, Coalition members combine efforts to create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the state.
The coalition members include the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Small Business Development Center, the South Carolina Export Consortium, the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP), the South Carolina Women's Business Center, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), and the U.S. Small Business Administration District Office. The Coalition does not change any of the missions of the individual organizations, but rather formalizes the already existing relationships among these groups. The act of formalization provides the state's entrepreneurs and small businesses with a statewide, seamless way of receiving a total package of assistance in order to increase their competitiveness and bottom-line success.
Source: South Carolina Coalition for Small Business & Entrepreneurship
CONTACT: Dana Todd of SCMEP, +1-803-463-5278, or dtodd@scmep.org, for South Carolina Coalition for Small Business & Entrepreneurship
| Organizations | SC Chamber of Commerce |
|---|---|
| Source | |
| Submitter | John Warner |
| Tags | Entrepreneurial, Events |