West Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center at Concordia

May 05, 2011

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
DR. GREG CANT, dean of the Offutt School of Business
(218) 299-4776
AMY KELLY, Media Relations director
(218) 299-3642

WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
MOVES TO CONCORDIA COLLEGE

       Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., is the new host of the West Central Small Business Development Center. The West Central (Minn.) SBDC’s purpose is to stimulate the economy and promote new job opportunities by assisting small business development. The center will provide counseling, training, and information in all aspects of small business management.
       “Operating the West Central Minnesota SBDC provides the Offutt School of Business with incredible opportunities to impact our community, give our students fantastic real-world learning and create the broad potential to support economic development across our region,” says Offutt School of Business Dean Dr. Greg Cant. “We expect the WCSBDC to become a key element of the Offutt School of Business at Concordia College.”
       The Center has the following staff members: Cathy Lindquist, regional director; Amanda Nygaard, program coordinator; Matt Magness and F. Skip Carpenter, business consultants. The West Central SBDC will be temporarily housed in Concordia’s Riverside Center until the Offutt School of Business building project is complete. Bill Martinson of Enterprise Minnesota will also have an office at the SBDC. 
       The SBDC model will utilize local faculty as mentors for student teams which will have an opportunity to work with the SBDC as part of their capstone experience. As a community outreach, the WCSBDC has five satellite locations in the following cities: Morris, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls and Perham. The West Central Region of Minnesota comprises nine counties along the western edge of the state and contains only five communities with more than 5,000 people. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has partnered with regional SBDCs for more than 30 years providing thousands of small businesses with high impact, confidential and quality professional consulting and training. More information about the West Central SBDC can be found on the web site at www.OffuttSchoolofBusiness.org/sbdc.
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(gc/kk)
11-073

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