Mary Joe Williams has been selected as the 2010 State Star of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center (VI SBDC), according to an announcement by SBDC State Director Leonor D. Dottin.
"I am delighted to make this announcement, and to recognize Ms. Williams for extraordinary contributions to the work of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center and small business in the Virgin Islands," Dottin said.
Williams is a training coordinator and business counselor at the SBDC's St. Thomas / St. John Service Center. She was chosen by the VI SBDC for being an outstanding performer, making a major contribution to the Virgin Islands SBDC program, and showing a strong commitment to the small business community.
"It is an honor to accept this award and (an honor) to have the opportunity everyday to assist so many entrepreneurs achieve the dream of starting and succeeding in their own businesses," Williams said.
America's Association of Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the U.S. Small Business Administration's largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. The VI SBDC serves as a community outreach program of the Research & Public Service component of the University of the Virgin Islands.
With about 1,000 centers across the nation, America's SBDC network provided business consulting to approximately 200,000 clients, training for more than 400,000 attendees, and other forms of management and technical assistance to approximately 600,000 small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs last year.
A special awards reception honoring the ASBDC 2010 State Stars
was held in September in San Antonio, Texas, in conjunction with
ASBDC's 30th Annual Conference. The reception was sponsored by Sage
North America, a company that provides business software solutions
for accounting. For more than 30 years, the Sage family has
assisted small and midsized businesses with a wide range of
business management applications and services. More than 3.1
million organizations in North America operate their business with
Sage solutions.
Mary Joe Williams, third from
right, is honored as the 2010 State Star of the Virgin Islands
Small Business Development Center, during the 30th annual
conference of the Association of Small Business Development Centers
held in September in Texas. Shown, from left, are President and CEO
of the Association of Small Business Development Centers Charles
"Tee" Rowe, State Director of the Florida SBDC Jerry Cartwright,
State Director of the Virgin Islands SBDC Leonor D. Dottin,
Williams, Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business
Development Centers at the U. S. Small Business Administration
Antonio Doss and Vice President for ACT! Sales at Sage North
America Jim Mullery.