Congressmen Smith, Latham to be honored for service to Iowa small businesses

09-22-06

Contacts:

Jon Ryan, Iowa SBDC, (515) 294-2030, jonryan@iastate.edu

Mike Ferlazzo, News Service, (515) 294-8986, ferlazzo@iastate.edu

Congressmen Smith, Latham to be honored for service to Iowa small businesses

AMES, Iowa -- Former Iowa Congressman Neal Smith and current Congressman Tom Latham will be honored for their service to Iowa's small businesses at the 25th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) on Wednesday, October 4, in West Des Moines.

Smith is being honored for his leadership and dedication in the creation of the national Small Business Development Centers network -- a program which serves all U.S. states and territories. Latham is being honored for his extensive support of the Small Business Compliance Alliance program, a regulatory compliance program of the national SBDC program.

The Iowa Small Business Development Centers are an outreach unit of Iowa State University's College of Business, with regional service centers at Regents universities and community colleges across Iowa.

Because of their leadership, support and dedication, Smith and Latham have made it possible for the Iowa SBDC to help thousands of Iowa businesses and entrepreneurs through personal counseling and training since the program's inception in 1981.

"We are extremely grateful to both of these men," says Jon Ryan, Iowa SBDC state director. "They deserve the thanks of all Iowans for aiding in the creation of these two programs, which have impacted not just our state, but the entire nation. The counseling assistance, resource materials and outreach activities have generated business growth and entrepreneurial opportunity beyond belief."

For more information on SBDC programs or services, call (515) 294-2030 or visit http://www.iowasbdc.org.

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