Oak Ridge Today

Government contracting seminar for small business owners

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Small business owners can learn more about doing business with the government during a Jan. 15 seminar at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The free seminar, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Jan 15, is being offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The featured speaker is Paul Middlebrooks, marketing consultant at the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services. The program is designed to introduce business owners and managers to the diversity of government purchasing.

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Free Friday workshop focuses on bank loans, small businesses

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A free workshop Friday at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will focus on bank loans for small businesses.

Topics will include the basics of financial statements and lender requirements for existing and start-up businesses. Small Business Administration loan guarantees will also be covered.

The speaker is Jutta Bangs, senior business specialist with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.

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Guest column: Entrepreneurs dream of ‘gold medal’ of business ownership

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John Ragan

John Ragan

The phrase, “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger), is the Olympic motto. It is meant to inspire competitors to achieve greater performances than their peers and predecessors … to “own the record.”

Olympic athletes invest, literally, thousands of hours of their lives chasing their dream for a quadrennial chance at a medal and, perhaps, a record. Iron self-discipline drives these people to endure grueling early morning workouts. These are followed by many hours of skills rehearsal and practice followed by even more hours of conditioning.

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Y-12 honors companies, advocates for small business success

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Y-12 Mentor Protege Agreement

Darrel Kohlhorst, president and general manager of B&W Y-12, at right, and Gary Johnson, president of CG Services Corporation, sign a mentor-protégé agreement as Johnson’s wife and CG Services Corporation Vice President Cindy Johnson looks on at the annual Socioeconomic Programs Awards ceremony held at Y-12’s New Hope Center on July 12. (Photos submitted by B&W Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex honored six small businesses last week for “exceptional contributions” to its missions during Fiscal Year 2011.

The businesses were honored at the annual Socioeconomic Programs Awards reception held Thursday, July 12, a B&W Y-12 press release said.

Two Y-12 employees also were acknowledged for their role as small business advocates.

Honored as Y-12 2012 small businesses of the year were:

  • Small Business: SCI Consulting Services Inc.
  • Small Disadvantaged Business: GEM Technologies Inc.
  • Woman-Owned Small Business: G&S Construction Company Inc.
  • HUBZone Small Business: Oldenburg Group Incorporated
  • Veteran-Owned Small Business: Advantage Electronics Inc.
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business: A1 Tactical and Safety

The two Y-12 employees honored as small business advocates of the year were Kealan Huckabee and Floyd Smith.

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