Jane Blunn presents the 2009 Michael Bunn Sr. Memorial Rising Star Award, named in her husband's honor, to Claude Galipeault, center, and Christopher Marsden, owners of Digitus Biometrics at the Small Business Assistance Corporation Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)
Tony O'Reilly, left, president of the Small Business Assistance Corporation, presents the 2009 Small Business Advocate Award to SCORE, represented by Douglas Fuss. (Steve Bisson/Savannah Morning News)
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By Arlinda Smith Broady
In these tough economic times, the needs of small businesses are greater than ever. Funding and mentoring are among the most in-demand necessities, and the Small Business Assistance Corp. works to pair up business owners with those who can help.
Its annual meeting and awards luncheon recognizes individuals and organizations who contributed to and benefited from the SBAC's mission.
"A lot of friends support and make small-business development possible," said SBAC President Tony O'Reilly.
So far this year, the SBAC has helped secure 66 loans totaling $7.23 million.
"Twenty of those were for start-up businesses, and the other 46 were for existing business," said O'Reilly, adding the funds helped create 128 full-time jobs.
Celebrating 20 years of service to Southeast Georgia and South Carolina's Lowcountry, SBAC handed out three awards Wednesday at Savannah Station.
-- 2009 Small Business Advocate went to the Savannah chapter of SCORE, counselors to America's small businesses.
In presenting the award, O'Reilly commented on how SCORE is dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide.
"Each business owner is assigned a personal SCORE counselor who meets regularly with them to address concerns and to ensure that they are in compliance with SBAC requirements," he said. "The SCORE counselor provides continuous sound advice to help entrepreneurs overcome the multiple pitfalls that they encounter on a daily basis."
-- 2009 Banker of the Year award went to Jamie Chisolm of The Heritage Bank.
As the Chatham market executive vice president of commercial banking, his responsibilities cover Savannah, Richmond Hill, Pooler and surrounding areas.
"The recognition goes to the loan officer most active in SBAC loan originations," O'Reilly said. "The award is determined by the number of transactions during our fiscal year Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2009."
Chisolm utilized four different SBAC loan programs, originating eight loans for a total of more than $4.8 million.
-- 2009 Michael Bunn Rising Star award went to Digitus Biometrics.
The award is named for the late Michael Bunn, an economic development specialist who dedicated himself to the promotion of entrepreneurship and gained a reputation for being the "champion of small-business ownership."
With the award, the SBAC recognizes an outstanding small business for personal achievements and contributions to the local economy.
Digitus Biometrics is a leading provider of biometric access control solutions, a device that enables users to have their fingerprints translated to encrypted templates for access to restricted areas.
"With stricter regulations and the increased demand for secure and controllable access to commercial, research and government facilities, Digitus continues to grow," said Marie Murphy, outgoing chairman of the SBAC board of directors. "Today, Digitus systems provide zero-failure fingerprint recognition in nearly 200 government, military, health care and higher education installations worldwide."
2010 Small Business Assistance Corp. Board of Directors Officers
Karl Bohnstedt, chairman
Tom Butler, vice chair
Triece Ziblut, secretary
Denis Blackburne, assistant secretary
Jamie Chisolm, treasurer
Alan Fleming, loan committee chair
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