PULLMAN, Wash. – Four members of the Washington Small Business Development Center’s statewide network of business service centers have received the organization’s top performance award.
According to State Director Carol Riesenberg, the Washington SBDC created the Star Performer award “to recognize the highest levels of accomplishment within the SBDC network and to set a standard of achievement for others to emulate.” The awards, presented recently at the SBDC’s statewide staff meeting in Port Angeles, recognized individual performance during 1996.
Business Development Specialists Kathleen Purdy, Washington State University, located in Port Angeles, and Jack Wicks, Edmonds Community College, received Star Performer awards for business counseling. Adele Becker, Bellevue Community College, and Marcha Dillon, Community Colleges of Spokane, received Star Performer awards for their work with small business training programs.
This is the first year the state SBDC has presented the awards which are patterned after a national Star Performer program sponsored by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC). Information concerning the two counseling award winners will be passed on to the ASBDC for national consideration. The ASBDC currently does not conduct an award program for business training.
“Kathleen Purdy and Jack Wicks exhibit the highest level of professionalism and pay careful attention to the details of their clients’ businesses,” Riesenberg said. “Businesses that emerge from their efforts are well-grounded in business fundamentals and are prepared for unlimited opportunities for growth and success.”
In presenting the business training awards, Riesenberg noted that consideration went beyond meeting goals. “Whenever we have a special training program or a new project on a tight deadline, we know that Adele Becker and Marcha Dillon will be the first to volunteer and that they will find a way to make those programs succeed,” she said.
Because it was the inaugural year for the program, the Washington SBDC presented two awards in each category. Plans call for single awards each year.
The Washington SBDC, part of Washington State University’s College of Business and Economics, is the lead office for 23 education and 24 counseling centers statewide. These centers provide small business counseling, education and research services in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
rd102
