Happy birthday, SBDC: Event to mark organization’s 20th year of business help

A special birthday party is being planned for Oct. 21 to mark the 20th anniversary of the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, which since 1984 has provided advice and assistance to thousands of small businesses around the state.

The SBDC — a program of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire – provides confidential, one-on-one business management counseling and low-cost training seminars to New Hampshire’s small businesses. Services are delivered through six regional offices.

The SBDC’s 20th birthday will be celebrated from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 21 at a reception at Langer Place in Manchester. The event will include recognition of past clients and their successes as well as recognition of SBDC partners and supporters – all part of the evening’s theme, “Small Business: Creating New Hampshire’s Future.” The SBDC also will present its first SBDC Visionary Award, to the organization’s most accomplished client. A special appreciation award also will be presented to U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg in recognition of his continued support of the SBDC.

“New Hampshire entrepreneurs are very fortunate to have dedicated leadership and experienced staff at the N.H. SBDC providing crucial counseling and training for the last 20 years. The counselors have experienced all of the various economic cycles while the demand for SBDC services continues to grow each year,” said Jim Tibbetts, president and CEO of First Colebrook Bank and chair of the N.H. SBDC advisory board.

Since its inception, the SBDC has counseled more than 18,000 New Hampshire businesses representing more than 66,000 jobs and has trained more than 37,000 entrepreneurs representing 17,000 businesses.