NVC's Small Business Center Honored

The (SBDC) was recently awarded the “SBDC Team Award” for showing the highest economic impact for Northern California and has been recognized by the Northern California SBDC Regional Network for outstanding performance in 2011.

The SBDC Team Award was presented to NVC SBDC for providing the highest economic impact in Northern California and the Bay Area Region. Beth Pratt, NVC Career Technical Education and Workforce Development director, and the SBDC Team accepted the award during the All Network Conference held in Berkeley on Feb. 3. It was attended by more than 150 SBDC affiliates and business community representatives from all over Northern California.

The awards shine a light on Napa Valley College for excelling in efforts to create a positive economic impact in the local community.  

“I’m extremely proud that our SBDC, which is the smallest in the region, has been recognized as providing the highest assistance to our local communities. This is a testament to the great team of business advisors that we have at Napa SBDC and the solid partnerships we have with our business community,” Pratt said.

In 2011 NVC Small Business Development Center provided counseling services of over 2,300 hours to nearly 400 clients. The SBDC also provided 100 trainings to 1,040 participants. The documented economic impact includes 195 jobs created and 397 jobs retained. NVC’s SBDC helped local businesses obtain $1,090,000 in loans and $2,372,000 in equity financing in 2011. The center also helped local business increase their sales by over $12 million.

Ray Kimball, NVC business advisor, was recognized for his individual contribution in assisting local businesses to reach their goals. Business Advisor Carolynne Gamble received an award for team efforts and special contribution to the Napa SBDC and the local business community.

“Both Ray and Carolynne deserve this special recognition for going out of the way to make our SBDC a viable resource for our businesses and community,” Pratt added.

In 2011, Ray Kimball and Carolynne Gamble and a cadre of other SBDC advisors provided one-on-one consulting and training to nearly 17,000 entrepreneurs in Northern California.  Those services led to the creation and retention of more than 2,500 jobs, sales increases of over $62 million and over $50 million in capital infusion (loans and equity) for client businesses in 2011.

“This special acknowledgment is a way of recognizing business advisors who go beyond the call of duty and who most significantly help the businesses they assist grow and prosper,” said NorCal SBDC Regional Director Kristin Johnson.  “The good work of Napa SBDC and their advisors has directly helped businesses create jobs and increase sales in their communities.”

Napa Valley College SBDC has been a business resource in Napa County since 1988.

In 2007 Beth Pratt, past director, was nationally recognized by the Association of Small Business Development Centers as a State Star. In 2010 Napa Valley College was awarded a regional Business and Entrepreneurship Grant due to the past high performances of their local SBDC and strong partnerships. Today, Napa has both a Small Business Development Center and a Business Entrepreneurship Center to serve the local and regional business needs.

The SBDC is part of a national network of centers that assist small businesses by providing no-cost coaching and technical assistance and is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBDC was created for the purpose of helping entrepreneurs build their business and contribute to the economic development of their local communities. The NorCal SBDC Network encompasses 14 Northern California counties from the Oregon border to Monterey and is the largest territory in the state.

 “The Napa Valley College SBDC and staff are thrilled about this accolade. We are also happy to continue to provide local businesses with quality assistance and resources,” Pratt said. “We encourage local businesses to utilize our no-cost and low cost services to make their businesses stronger.  Visit us at napasbdc.org or call 707-253-3210.”