2005

pral'.,ed \\estbrook for the ser\ice he pro\ides area busmess owners and pro– spective entrepreneurs. "\tr. \\cstbrook began East Central's Small Busmess De\clopmcnt Center and has moved it to its current status. This award is recognttion for that good work. The Col– lege and Mr. Westbrook arc committed to small business development and see it as a great economic development tool for our rural area" said Dr. Sut– phm. Westbrook, a Louisvil le native, 1 •a graduate ofWinston Acad– emy, ECCC and Mts is– sippi State Univcrs1ty, where he rccel\·ed a bachelor's degree in bank– ing and finance He and Ju-; \\1 fc \ ' ' nc h:l\c t ... o '"'ns, H,t!)llngs .md Robert.

Westbrook Selected SBDC "State Star" for MS DECAT U R-–

greatly apprec tate Mr Westbrook and East Cen– tral for their assistance." Gurley noted that the College's Small Busi– ness Center "had a very product1vc year m 2004, especially when one con– Siders that the service area includes only five rural counties in Mississippi,and that the Center's staff in– cludes Ronnie and a sec– retary, which makes the cconomtc impact of the Center all the more im– prcs 'i"c.'' The ECCC Small Business De\ elopmen t Center was responsible for creating 43 jobs and retaming 69 positions. The Center is also credited with $4,064,900 in sales in– creases, $2,220, l 00 in debt financmg and $677,833 m non-debt financing Dr. Phil -\ Sm phin, ECCC president. als:.>

soc1ation of Small Bu,i– ness De"clopmcnt Cen– ters S1h cr Anmversary Annual Confcrl!ncc in Baltimore. Mary land. Sep– tember 6-9. 2005. He IS among 63 SBDC directors from across the nanon to be recogmzed for their success. Gurley satd Westbrook wac; c;clccu.:d for the prestigious honor "due to h1s ded1canon to clients and his genume concern for the Citizen!> of east central Mississ1pp1 " Gurley al o praised Westbrook for comments made by lus cli– ents, who mostly reside in the College's support area, which includes Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott ~ and Winston counties. "The outpouring of support and gratitude (for Westbrook) is over– whelming," he stated. "Ev– eryone says the same thing" 'he really cares about my success."' One such success story involves a local hos– pice, which began with three employees and quickly grew to I7 full– time staff members. The business owner credits Westbrook for her success and made the followmg conm1cnt· "Mr. Westbrook is \cry thorough and IS committed to helping oth– ers achic\c and prosper. I

Helping local busmesses succeed has resulted in a statewide honor for Ronald B. Westbrook, director of the Small Busmess Devel– opment Center at East Central Community Col– lege in Decatur. Westbrook, who

..

RonaldB. Westbrook has led the College's SBDC efforts since its in– ception in October 1994, is being rccugnized as the SBDC State Star for Mis– sissippi , announced Walter D . (Doug) Gurley, who serves as state director of the Mississipp1 Small Busi– ness Development Cen– ters, located at the Univer– sity of Miss1ssipp1 111 Ox– ford. Westbrook will re– ceive the award at the As-

APPEARED IN:

CARTHAGINIAN -------- NESHOBA DEMOCRAT ____ NEWTON RECORD______ MERIDIAN STAR ---------– CLARION-LEDGER - -----

LAKE MESSENGER ____ SCOTT COUNTY TIMES _ _ _ UNION APPEAL----– WINSTON COUNTY JOURNAL .

SPIRIT OF MORTON-~'------- IMPACT _ __________ _______