Spanish translator services available
Spanish translator services are now available by appointment for the public at the Walton College Small Business and Technology Development Center through a partnership with the Northwest Arkansas chapter of ALPFA. The national organization was founded as the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting but has expanded in scope.
University of Arkansas ALPFA chapter members will volunteer as translators for the center’s clients seeking assistance there with business planning, the loan process, preparation of profit/loss or cash flow statements, consumer and competitor market research, site selection and general small-business planning assistance. The services are free.
The center is at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, 145 N. Buchanan Ave., Suite 210, on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Free parking is provided in the Harmon Avenue parking garage across the street from the center.
Any small-business owner or entrepreneur can call (479) 575-5148 for an appointment. Information on center services is at sbtdc.uark.edu.
Also, any members of the local ALPFA chapter may attend without charge the center’s seminars called “Starting a Business in Arkansas” and “How to Write a Business Plan.” Those two workshops are given at different times and locations at least monthly. Chapter members should call for the fee waiver before registering online for a specific workshop.
Nominations sought for national awards
The website nationalsmallbusinessweek.sba.gov will accept award nominations for National Small Business Week until Jan. Nominations may also be sent to district offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration at sba.
gov/districtoffices. Guidelines are available on the website.
Awards include the National Small Business Person of the Year, Exporter of the Year, the Phoenix Awards to recognize outstanding accomplishments during disaster recovery, Small Business Investment Company of the Year, the Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year, Subcontractor of the Year, The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence for large prime contractors who have used small businesses as suppliers and contractors. The SBA 8(a) Graduate of the Year is selected from recent graduates of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program.
Excellence awards are also given for the SBA-funded Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers and Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
The definition of “small business” is specific to the industry involved; standards are explained at sba.gov/size.
Additional information is available at carol.silverstrom@ sba.gov or (501) 324-7379 extentsion 227.
System to offer dentistry residency
Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville will offer an Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency program beginning in the summer of 2014.
Accreditation was granted by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association after two years of preparation.
This will be the first dental residency program in Arkansas. The state does not have a dental school, so participants in the program will receive their degrees elsewhere.
While residency is not a requirement for dentists, the veterans hospital often treats medically compromised and medical/dental cases of high complexity. Dental residents will gain experience with problems not always seen in the average practice.
The program is integrated into the hospital’s dental service, so residents in the new program will be Veterans Administration employees during their residencies.
The hospital is in the recruitment phase for the residency program, and interviews are planned for late December. There will be one residency position for 2014, with plans to add a second at a later date. Information about the program is available at adea.org.
Students pitch business ideas for loans
The Family Enterprise Center at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith hosted 37 teams of high school business students Nov. 21 who pitched their ideas to loan committees of local bankers and business owners. Each team could request up to $500 in seed money, but most asked for $100-200.
About $3,000 from the university was loaned to student proposals this year. High school instructors work with the students to open bank accounts and purchase supplies or inventories for their businesses.
The teams will implement their business plans, then report their progress in the spring. Another panel will judge those presentations, awarding first-, second- and third-place winners with UAFS scholarships.
Briefs are for businesses in Northwest Arkansas that are new, have moved or closed, opened a new branch, changed owners or have been honored by an independent organization. Email items to cswanson@nwaonline. Information will be published as space allows.
Business, Pages 52 on 12/08/2013