SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington Small Business Development Center network, in cooperation with Washington State University’s College of Business and Economics and others, last month designated four counselors as “certified business development specialists.”
Linda Koenes of Seattle, Jennifer Shelton of Des Moines, Bruce Davis of the Tri-Cities and Jim Fletcher of Wenatchee were recognized at the WSBDC’s statewide staff meeting at Sun Mountain Lodge in Withrop.
The four recently completed a rigorous six-month training program that has prepared them to offer a broad range of technical assistance to Washington’s small business owners and operators.
Also receiving recognition was Elizabeth Becker of Port Angeles, who earned a certificate of accomplishment for her counselor training efforts. Lew Blakeney, a WSBDC counselor in Okanogan County, was cited by the U.S. Small Business Administration for his technical assistance to the Bear Creek Lumber Co., a Native American-owned forest products company in Winthrop.
Blakeney was instrumental in obtaining two loans for Bear Creek that helped fund expansion. He is also working with the Colville Tribe’s Small Business Resource Center in Nespelem.
In addition to WSU, the WSBDC is a cooperative effort of other universities, community colleges, economic development agencies and the U.S. Small Business Development Administration to provide business management and technical assistance, training and research to small business owners. It is a statewide program with business counseling and training offered at 23 locations around Washington state. In 2002, the 23 WSBDC counselors helped state small business owners access more than $40 million in capital to help grow their companies.
