9 Days to the Showcase!

Green Technologies
Gainesville, Florida
www.green-edge.com

Successfully Exporting Green Technologies to New Markets

It’s no wonder that Dr. Amir Varshovi was recognized as the 2014 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Florida. Along with his business partner, Marla Buchanan, Varshovi has demonstrated success in two areas that are critical to the growth of a strong national economy – expansion into international markets and development of sustainable green technology.

An Unlikely Pair

Varshovi arrived in the United States from Iran in 1972 as an undergraduate student. The son of an English teacher, and a self-professed researcher by nature, he admits playing with chemistry sets when he was a little kid. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in soil and water science at the University of Florida. While working as a researcher, he hired Buchanan, then an undergraduate student, to work in the lab. They were an unlikely pair given Buchanan was a criminal justice major. Buchanan went on to law school and became a shareholder in a successful Jacksonville law firm, but the two kept in touch, and when the time was right, they began working together again to start Green Technologies.  (more…)

10 Days to the Showcase!

Elevate Systems
San Antonio, Texas
www.elevatesystems.com 

Elevate Systems is a full-service organization providing engineering services, primarily for the Department of Defense; energy services, including lighting assessments and LED retrofits in the commercial sector; executive and professional consulting services; information technology services; and senior program and project management support services.

Once Maricela and Scott Gray started their new firm in December of 2012, they contacted the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) for advice and guidance. They had their first meeting at the SBDC PTAC in early 2013, with SBDC PTAC business advisor and project manager Sheriley Smith.

Sheriley provided contact information for all of the local Military Installation small business specialists in the area. She also provided information concerning certification programs for small business owners, including local, state and federal certifications, so that Elevate Systems could maximize its opportunities when bidding on contracts.  (more…)

11 Days to the Showcase!

Bear Creek Smokehouse
Premium Smoked Meats Since 1943
Owned and Operated by the Shoults Family
10857 State Highway 154, Marshall, TX 75670
(903) 935-5217 / (800) 950-2327
www.bearcreeksmokehouse.com

Kilgore College SBDC Success Story

Bear Creek Smokehouse recently won the “Marshall Star Award,” the “Longview Small Family Business of The Year” award and was featured on the FYI Network’s Food Factory show.

Nestled in the East Texas piney woods of Bear Bottom, four generations of family tradition surrounds Bear Creek Smokehouse. Originating in 1943, Hick and Nellie Shoults have raised and cured their own smoked meats. Since then, the Smokehouse has grown from a backyard venture with 600 birds to one of East Texas’ largest facilities producing a wide variety of smoked delights. Bear Creek Smokehouse is one of the oldest stores in the United States, offering products such as ham, peppered pork tenderloins, smoked ribs, pork loins, brisket, a variety of birds and much more! The store also offers a range of soups and beverage mixes, along with chocolate fudge and praline pecan desserts.

Over the years, the Smokehouse has prided itself on never surrendering the quality and taste of the “old-fashioned” way of hickory smoking. They believe their customers keep coming back because of the way they continue to create smoked meats without compromise. Locally, the Bear Creek Smokehouse salesroom presents the Shoults’ down-home country atmosphere, accentuated by the family’s next generation of traditional values.  (more…)

12 Days to the Showcase!

America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are excited to announce the America’s SBDC Client Showcase & Reception is back again this year! The following SBDC clients will be joining us on Capitol Hill on February 1st:

• Bear Creek Smokehouse – North TX
• Elevate Systems – South-West TX
• Green Technologies – FL
• Helios Remote Sensing – NY
• House of Design – ID
• KuKuRuZa Popcorn – WA
• Luke’s Toy Factory – CT
• McClintock Distilling – MD
• The Eats Place – DC
• Zeigler Bros – PA

To prepare for our big day, we will be doing a 12-day countdown to the showcase reception. Each day we will share a story about one of the clients attending the reception, who they are and how they worked with their local SBDC.  (more…)