EDWARDSVILLE - Jo Ann DiMaggio May, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for the Metro East at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, received two awards at the Illinois Entrepreneurship and Small Business Growth Association (IESBGA) Conference in Champaign held May 15-17 at the Hyatt Place Hotel.
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Among seven Illinois SBDC Network Shining Star awards, DiMaggio May and her center were honored in the promotion/public relations category for her “tremendous promotional and public relations efforts for the Illinois SBDC.”
“It is an honor to work in such a supportive business environment, where collaboration is understood and received with open arms,” DiMaggio May said. “Recognition for my center’s efforts shows that the Illinois SBDC for the Metro East is making an impact helping entrepreneurs and small businesses. This truly reinforces the reason I work hard every day.”
She also received the IESBGA Roger Luman Program Excellence Award for outstanding achievements for innovative and best practices in programs and services provided to entrepreneurs and small businesses for the HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) Outreach event.
DiMaggio May worked with the Illinois Small SBDC/Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) network to host an informational workshop in mid-April to promote, educate and provide resources to small businesses eligible to participate in the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) HUBZone program.
HUBZone helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone.
Additionally, the SBDC network collaborated with the Greater East St. Louis Business Development Association to offer local resources on how businesses could participate in government contracting.
DiMaggio May pointed to collaboration for the HUBZone Outreach event’s success. “Working with Western Illinois University Illinois PTAC Director Theresa Ebeler, the Small Business Administration, the SIUE East St. Louis Center, the City of East St. Louis and various other partners allowed us to provide informational resources and vital connections to the small businesses that need it most,” she said. “Our goal is to help these businesses achieve certification status, so that they can do business with the federal or state governments.”
The Illinois SBDC for the Metro East assists start-up ventures, as well as existing businesses headquartered in the nine-county region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. It is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and SIUE as a service to Illinois small businesses.
By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC network positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining new jobs and encouraging new investment. It enhances the region’s economic interests by providing one-stop assistance to individuals by means of counseling, training, research and advocacy for new ventures and existing small businesses. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large.
To learn about the SBDC, contact the IL SBDC for the Metro East at SIUE at 618-650-2929.
