Grand Rapids, MI - February 4, 2009
Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 Selected as SCORE Michigan District Chapter of the Year for 2008
For the 2nd consecutive year, Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 has been selected as the SCORE Michigan District Chapter of the year for 2008. Judith K. Thome, Michigan SCORE District Director, presented the award to Bill Leete, Chapter Chair, at the chapter's January 30th monthly meeting of SCORE counselors at the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter won out over eight other SCORE Chapters in Michigan for this prestigious award. The chapter will go on to compete for the SCORE National Chapter of the Year Award for 2008 with the recipient to be announced in March 2009.
For the SCORE District and National Chapter of the Year Awards, SCORE chapters are evaluated on their performance in meeting the needs of small business entrepreneurs and small business owners in the business communities they serve. In the State of Michigan, SCORE Chapters are located in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Ludington, Traverse City, and Petoskey.
The Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter had increased its one-on-one counseling sessions and workshop attendance by 47% over 2007. A total of 1,054 clients were served. Hits on the chapter website increased by 71%. Counseling services were provided to clients in 10 outlying areas in West Michigan through local chambers of commerce, a city hall, and a community college. Two new branch offices were established in Greenville and Barry County (Hastings). Through a Client Satisfaction Survey that had a 44% response rate, 99% of the clients surveyed would recommend SCORE services to others.
Laura Valentine of Laura's HEArt Studio in Hastings, MI, who sought out the the help of SCORE, stated that "a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, realizing the dream of starting my business was truly a possibility." SCORE counselors helped Laura develop and fine-tune her business plan. Laura opened her HEArt studio as an art education center in March 2008.
Denise Hopkins of Eden Environments in Grand Rapids, MI also utilized the expertise of SCORE counselors to help develop her business and marketing plans, and as a result obtained a loan and signed a lease. Denise hoped to open a design and retail operation that would provide sustainable designs and sell sustainable green building materials and furniture. "Based on the help from SCORE," her business opened in August 2008.
Counselor Development, Community Involvement, Client Satisfaction, and Chapter Achievements were other criteria evaluated during the review process for SCORE Michigan District Chapter of the Year. "The Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter performed in an outstanding manner in all categories," stated the SCORE Michigan District Director.
W. Kenneth Yancey, Jr., CEO of the National SCORE Association, congratulated the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter. "I join Judith in recognizing Chapter 642's accomplishments and express my personal gratitude and that of the SCORE Board of Directors for your outstanding contributions to the small business community."
SCORE Michigan District Director, Judy Thome, applauded the Grand Rapids SCORE chapter chair and SCORE counselors for their many accomplishments in reaching out to their area small business communities. She thanked them for helping small business entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and for coaching small business onwers how to prepare and fine-tune their business plans. "Through your efforts, you have all made a significant difference in the lives of others," she said.
Bill Leete, Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter Chair, told his team of SCORE counselors, "Our chapter had an extremely good year in meeting our goals and had many other accomplishments that helped our clients to be successful. Thank you all for your very hard work, dedication, and the many hours spent in serving our clients so well that we received this award once again."
SCORE Chapter 642, located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce facility, 111 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI, offers confidential business counseling at no charge. The SCORE volunteers who offer their business expertise are both working and retired small business owners and corporate executives.
SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business, also offers low cost workshops that cover the important elements of starting a business and how to develop a business plan. For more in information on the services offered by the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter, call (616) 771-0305, e-mail score@grandrapids.org or visit SCORE on the web at www.scoregr.org. SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business, is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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Grand Rapids, Michigan - May 9, 2008
GRAND RAPIDS SCORE NAMED 2007 DISTRICT CHAPTER OF THE YEAR FOR MICHIGAN
The Grand Rapids Chapter of SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business, a volunteer non-profit organization, was named the SCORE District Chapter of the Year for the state of Michigan. The announcement was made by SCORE District Director, Judy Thome. This is the Grand Rapids SCORE chapter's second District Chapter of the Year award since 2005, and the chapter will now compete for the 2007 National SCORE Chapter of the Year honors.
There are currently nine SCORE chapters in Michigan with an additional 45 satellite locations statewide. SCORE Grand Rapids, located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce offices, is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration and served over 700 clients in West Michigan in 2007. Thome said, "The Grand Rapids chapter was selected for excellence in providing a wide range of high-quality services to local small business entrepreneurs. Their dedication to the small business community through business counseling and workshops helps SCORE make a positive impact in the economy and the lives of entrepreneurs." Selection criteria included client success stories, community involvement, counselor development, number of counseling sessions and educational workshops offered, and client satisfaction.
Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter Chairperson, Bill Leete, said, "We're very honored to again be selected as the District SCORE Chapter of the Year. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our talented volunteers and the collaborative support of our business and community partners." In 2007, SCORE Grand Rapids counselors volunteered nearly 4,000 hours to help small business owners succeed. Given that the small business sector is one of the key drivers of our economy, SCORE's services are more critical than ever to the success of the Michigan eoconomy. I'm so pleased that the contributions of our volunteers have been recognized with this award."
SCORE National CEO, Ken Yancey, said, "I want to congratulate the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter for their outstanding contributions to the small business community and express the appreciation of our Board of Directors for their contributions to the West Michigan business communiity."
Grand Rapids SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business, located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce facility at 111 Pearl Street N .W., Grand Rapids, MI, offers confidential counseling at no charge as well as low cost workshops on how to start a business and develop an effective business plan. For more information on the services offered, call (616) 771-0305, email score@grandrapids.org, or visit SCORE on the web at www.scoregr.org.
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Grand Rapids, Michigan - September 29, 2006
FORMER SCORE GRAND RAPIDS CHAPTER CHAIRPERSON IS NAMED SCORE MICHIGAN DISTRICT DIRECTOR.
Judith (Judy) K. Thome, former SCORE Grand Rapids Chapter 642 Chairperson has been named SCORE Michigan District Director. Her position becomes effective October 1, 2006.
Judy has been a SCORE volunteer for the past 6 years. She has held positions of Treasurer, Vice Chairperson and for the past 3 years has served as Chapter Chairperson. In her new role as SCORE Michigan District Director, she will be responsible for directing the efforts and supporting 9 SCORE Chapters and 40 SCORE Branches. The SCORE Michigan Chapters include Petoskey, Traverse City, Cadillac, Muskegon, Holland, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and Detroit. She will report directly to the SCORE CEO in Washington, DC. Since SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Judy will also maintain a close working relationship with the SBA office in Detroit, the SBTDC office in Grand Rapids and GROW.
Ms. Thome’s career has included teaching at the high school and college levels. She was Operations Manager for a large cable television operation. In her role as Operations Manager, she was responsible for customer service, financial operations, computer systems, facility planning, department budgets, short and long-range strategic planning and employee management. She was founder, part owner, CFO and COO of a software development company that supplied traffic management and billing software to the cable television industry worldwide. The company went public on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in 1996. Judy is a graduate of Western Michigan University.
SCORE is a non-profit association with 389 SCORE offices across the country. It is a premier, business counseling and advice service that provides no fee counseling by experienced business professionals and low-cost business workshops.
For more information on the services offered by SCORE, visit SCORE on the WEB at www.scoremichigan.com or www.score.org. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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Grand Rapids, MI - September 29, 2006
SCORE GRAND RAPIDS CHAPTER 642 ANNOUNCES OFFICERS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007.
SCORE Grand Rapids Chapter 642 announces new officers for Fiscal Year 2007. Their positions become effective October 1, 2006 and last through September 30, 2007.
William (Bill) M. Leete will be the new Chapter Chairperson. Bill has been a SCORE volunteer for 8 years and has held the positions of Vice Chairperson for 3 years and Operations Committee Chair for the same time period. He has more than 35 years of experience in industry that included over 26 years in management with Westinghouse and the Knoll Group, a Westinghouse subsidiary. His range of management positions include Vice-President of Operations, Director-World Wide Material Resources, Materials Manager, Production and Inventory Control Manager and Manager of Manufacturing Systems. He also has experience in market planning and sales. Bill holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and BS in Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Rick Walker fills the position of Chapter Vice-Chairperson and has been a SCORE counselor for 3 years. Since retiring from AT&T in 1999, Rick has spent his time running his own management consulting practice and serving on a variety of non-profit Boards and in leadership positions with several community service organizations. His business experience ranges from running small start-up businesses to directing very large and complex organizations at a senior executive level. His small business experience involved sales, customer service, computer operations, financial operations and all facets of a growing entrepreneurial company. Currently, his emphasis is on small to mid-size business and specializing in executive coaching, strategic planning, team building and performance improvements. Rick is a graduate of Wright State University with a BS in Management.
Fred L. Kistler, former CPA and Treasurer of Meijer, Inc. will continue serving SCORE as Chapter Treasurer. He has been a SCORE volunteer for 13 years. Fred’s experience also includes accounting and financial systems, wholesale and retail trade, real estate and he is SCORE’s Quick Books expert. Fred graduated from the University of Michigan with an MBA.
Richard (Dick) L. Kitchen will continue his service with SCORE as Chapter Secretary. Dick spent 28 years in the trucking equipment and repair industry. He owned and managed a specialty and custom truck body shop. Dick has been a SCORE volunteer for 11 years.
SCORE Chapter 642 is located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce facility at 111 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI and offers confidential business counseling at no charge by volunteers who are either working or retired small business owners or corporate executives.
SCORE also offers low cost business workshops that cover the important elements of starting a business and how to develop a business plan.
For more information on the services offered by the SCORE Grand Rapids Chapter, call (616) 771-0305, email at score@grandrapids.org or visit SCORE on the WEB at www.scoregr.org. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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Grand Rapids, MI - March 29, 2006
Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 to provide counseling services in Ionia.
The Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Rapids Chapter of SCORE are pleased to announce a strategic alliance to support the business community in the Ionia Area.
Dawn Ketchum, Executive Director of the Ionia Chamber, in an effort to expand the support services to area businesses, initiated discussions to bring the counseling services of SCORE to Ionia.
SCORE locally is made up of nearly 30 retired executives and business owners who volunteer their time to counsel small business and help them succeed. The services provided by SCORE are for those who want to start a new business, existing business firms that are looking for ideas for growth and also those companies who may be struggling and looking for a fresh pair of eyes to examine their business operation. SCORE, a partner of the Small Business Administration (SBA), provides counseling and mentoring support at no cost to the client.
According to SCORE Chair, Judy Thome, "Nearly 80% of small business firms fail in their first two years of operation. Our goal is to provide the counseling that improves the success rate for small business in West Michigan. National statistics indicate that 75% of new jobs in our economy are created by small business."
"The leadership of the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce is constantly looking for ways to provide meaningful support to area business firms. We believe that the counseling service provided by SCORE is yet another way to support area business," according to Dawn Ketchum.
SCORE counseling at the Ionia Chamber of Commerce will be available on the 1st Thursday of each month from 9:00 a.m. until Noon beginning in May. Contact the Ionia Chamber at (616) 527-2560 to make an appointment to meet with a SCORE Counselor.
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Grand Rapids, MI - February 1, 2006
Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter Selected as SCORE District Chapter of the Year for 2005!
The Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 has been selected as the SCORE District Chapter of the Year by District Director David Pickard.
Every year, each SCORE district director is asked to identify one chapter that is to be recognized as the SCORE District Chapter of the Year based on their performance in four critical categories:
Smallest percent decrease in Total Client Sessions.
Percent increase in number of Business Workshops provided.
Actual number of Legislative Contacts.
Actual number of Client Success Stories.
Based on the performance of seven chapters in the State of Michigan, the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 was recognized as 2005 District Chapter of the Year. In the four categories, they ranked first in one, tied for first in one and finished second in the other two. Runners-up were the Detroit and Muskegon SCORE Chapters.
W. Kenneth Yancey, Jr., CEO, SCORE Association stated, "I join Dave in recognizing Chapter 642's accomplishments and express my personal gratitude and that of the SCORE Board of Directors for your outstanding contributions to the small business community."
SCORE Grand Rapids Chapter 642's Chairperson, Judith K. Thome, said, "I am so proud and happy that our chapter received this recognition for a real team effort that was made to achieve our 2005 goals to promote small business success in our community. Our SCORE volunteers work hard to make a difference as they help business entrepreneurs and small businesses realize their dreams. I am just thrilled that those efforts have been acknowledged."
SCORE Chapter 642, located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce facility, 111 Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI, offers confidential counseling at no charge. The SCORE volunteers who offer their business expertise are working and retired small business owners and corporate executives.
SCORE also offers low cost workshops that cover the important elements of starting a business and how to develop a business plan. For more information on the the services offered by the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter, call (616) 771-0305, e-mail score@grandrapids.org or visit SCORE on the WEB at www.scoreger.org. SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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Grand Rapids, MI - September 26, 2005
Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter 642 Announces FY 2006 Officers
The votes are in! SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business, Chapter 642, announces their new officers for FY 2006. Their positions are effective October 1, 2005 and run through September 30, 2006. Judith "Judy" Thome of Byron Center will serve as Chapter Chairperson; William "Bill" Leete of Grand Rapids as Chapter Vice-Chairperson; Richard "Dick" Kitchen of Grand Rapids as Chapter Secretary; Fred Kistler of Grand Rapids as Chapter Treasurer.
Thome is a former business owner whose company remains to be the international leading supplier of traffic management and billing software to the Cable Television Industry. Leete is a former VP of Operations for Westinghouse at the Grand Rapids, MI plant and also has experience in materials management. Kitchen is a former business owner in trucking equipment and repair. Kistler is a CPA and was a former Vice President and Treasurer for Meijer, Inc.
SCORE Chapter 642, located in the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce facility, 111 Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI, offers confidential counseling at no charge. The SCORE volunteers who offer their business expertise are working and retired small business owners and corporate executives.
SCORE also offers low cost workshops that cover the important elements of starting a business and how to develop a business plan. For more information on the the services offered by the Grand Rapids SCORE Chapter, call (616) 771-0305, e-mail score@grandrapids.org or visit SCORE on the WEB at www.scoreger.org. SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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