Jeff M. Hardison

By Jeff M. Hardison
© 2009
LAKE CITY – Florida House of Representatives members Leonard Bembry (D-Greenville) and Debbie Boyd (D-Newberry) brought private, federal and state agencies to Lake City to help small businesses from throughout North Florida.

The first Small Business Resource Fair was held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Lake City Community College, which was recently renamed Florida Gateway College. People filled an auditorium on the campus as they attended workshops titled, “Selling to the Government,” “Tapping into the Stimulus and Other Federal and State Opportunities” and “Managing for Small Business Success.”

Vendors met with interested individuals and answered questions from the business owners.

Small business is vital to Florida’s economy, Boyd said. Given that the federal government is offering money to help stimulate the economy, she added, Florida needs to seek its fair share. Boyd noted she is “conservative.”

Bembry told every small business owner in attendance that they can gain something from speaking with the agencies’ staff at the fair. As an entrepreneur, Bembry said he has sold to state agencies on many occasions. He sought out what was needed to be a competitor for that market, he said.

Like Boyd, Bembry endorsed small business.

“Small business is the steam that runs the engine of Florida’s economy,” Bembry said.

While LCCC hosted the event, North Florida Community College of Madison and Saint Leo University had representatives to answer questions about services at those educational institutions too.

Florida Crown Workforce Development Board, which serves Columbia, Gilchrist and other two counties, was joined by North Florida Workforce Development Board, which serves Madison, Hamilton and four other counties. Those boards match businesses seeking workers with people who want jobs. They are among the many boards that are part of the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation.

The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business sent its regional director, certified business analyst and others to help business interests. The SBDC provides a counselor at LCCC once a month.

Other agencies that sent staff to help private enterprise were the Internal Revenue Service, the Florida Department of Management Services’ Office of Supplier Diversity, the Florida Department of Transportation, SCORE, the Suwannee River Water Management District, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBDC Regional Director Janice Donaldson said she hopes the event happens more often than annually.