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Orlando,
Fla. (August 08, 2005) Disney/SBA National Entrepreneur Center
(NEC) in downtown
Orlando which serves as a gateway to a wide range of
organizations providing business assistance and support
to entrepreneurs and small businesses has appointed Julie
Matthews as
assistant director.
NEC
director Debbie Brown said Matthews played a major role in
the development of the NEC while serving as downtown program
coordinator for the UCF Technology Incubator, a significant
NEC partner. Matthews will continue part-time
in her role with the Incubator in tandem with her new role
as NEC assistant director.
"Julie
Matthews is a bright, hard-working young executive and
we expect her to play a valuable role in our continued growth
and development,” Brown
said.
"The
goals of the NEC and the Incubator are very similar – they
both want to increase economic development within the community
by helping businesses grow. That’s what makes this
new role such a good fit for me, given the passion I have
for entrepreneurship,” Matthews
explained. “I am very excited to have this opportunity
to help take the NEC to the next level,” Matthews
said, adding, “and I am pleased to be able to continue
working with the UCF Technology Incubator where I have
learned so much.
”Julie
Matthews has had a significant impact on our downtown program. Her
experience as a small business owner and her management
expertise will be valuable assets to the NEC” said
Tom O’Neal,
CEO of the UCF Technology Incubator. “Julie’s
role as assistant director will enable UCF to play an even
greater role in supporting the NEC,” O’Neal
said.
The Disney/SBA National Entrepreneur Center coordinates
expert assistance and support provided by such groups as
the Orlando chapter of SCORE, Counselors to America’s
Small Business, which the U.S. Small Business Administration
named the 2004 National SCORE Chapter of the Year recently,
the UCF Small Business Development Center, whose Advisory
Board Council Program was named 2004 Program Award Winner
by the International Economic Development Council, and
the UCF Technology Incubator, which was named 2004 Incubator
of the Year by the National Business Incubator Association.
Brown
said the NEC currently includes 11 participating organizations
that are providing expert business counseling service and
support to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and companies
each month.
For more information, please
contact:
Debbie
Brown, Director, Disney/SBA NEC 407-420-4883 or dbrown@floridanec.org
Julie
A. Matthews, Disney/SBA NEC and UCFTI 407-489-0387 or jamathew@mail.ucf.edu
Tom O’Neal,
UCF Technology Incubator, 407-882-1120 or oneal@mail.ucf.edu
Larry
Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or lvershelco@aol.com
About the Disney/SBA National Entrepreneur Center
The
NEC is a community partnership dedicated to the support
and success of entrepreneurs. Founding partners of
the NEC are the US Small Business Administration, Walt
Disney Corporation, Orange County Government, and the University
ofCentral Florida The
NEC brings together a network of service providers and
other resources to offer entrepreneurs a one-stop shop
for small business services including counseling, training,
financial assistance, and a software lab with the tools
and research you need. The NEC is located in Orlando,
but their programs reach entrepreneurs throughout the
state and beyond. Since its opening in June 2003,
the NEC service providers have assisted over 26,000 clients
and supported the creation and retention of approximately
2,600 jobs, over 200 new business starts, and $65 million
in loans and other capital.
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