FYI: Business
BY LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Sunday, February 03, 2013
2/03/13 at 3:45 AM
Applicants sought for STEP program
Applicants are being sought for the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) program.
The STEP grant is a pilot project administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration and authorized by the Federal Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The grant is intended to help create jobs by increasing the number of small businesses exporting to foreign countries and to raise the value of exports for small businesses currently exporting.
Eligible small businesses interested in the STEP program must use funding toward developing or enhancing their international marketing efforts by participating in international trade shows related to their industry.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce will begin taking applications from Oklahoma small businesses starting in late January.
More information is available at tulsaworld.com/okstepfund, or contact the Global Recruitment and Trade Division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce at 405-815-5325.
Junior Achievement to honor QuikTrip CEO
Chester "Chet" Cadieux III, chairman, president and CEO of QuikTrip Corp., will be honored May 7 at the 23rd annual Business Excellence Dinner and Silent Auction benefiting Junior Achievement of Oklahoma.
The event will be held at the Tulsa Convention Center and will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 6 p.m.
Cadieux III
Funds raised from the auction will support Junior Achievement programs that will teach business principles to 49,000 students in Oklahoma during the current academic year.
Cadieux will be presented with the JA Business Excellence Award, an award that is presented to an individual who has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, achieved success in his or her field and contributed to the quality of life in the community.
Other awards to be announced include the JA Educator and Volunteer of the Year, as well this year's Junior Achievement Scholarship recipients. Dinner will be served at 7:15 p.m., followed by the award program and Cadieux's acceptance speech beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Table sponsorships are still available. For more information, contact Martha Rongey at mrongey@jaok.org or call 918-663-2150.
Claremore named Entrepreneur Ready Community
The City of Claremore is the first in the state to be recognized as an Entrepreneur Ready Community, officials with the city and Rogers State University announced.
Entrepreneur Ready Claremore is an economic development strategy designed to help the city become more entrepreneur-friendly. It is made possible through a grant received from the Economic Development Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Entrepreneur Ready Community program primarily focuses on distressed rural communities with populations of less than 20,000. Participating communities will form a regional entrepreneurial corridor that links entrepreneurs with services and resources.
The Innovation Center at Rogers State University was the recipient of the grant to become a University Center, a program that provides entrepreneurial training, community development and economic assistance to rural communities.
The certification program was launched in 2010 to create a corridor of certified entrepreneurial-ready communities in northeast Oklahoma that will provide support services to entrepreneurs who need assistance to become successful job-creating entities.
Benefits of Entrepreneur Ready Community certification include job creation, the opportunity to promote the community, the attraction of entrepreneurs and retention of talent and money that might otherwise go to other communities and enhance the success of entrepreneurial activity.
Bixby chamber names Citizen of the Year
Jeffrey Frable, a certified public accountant and partner with Curzon Cumbey & Kunkel PLLC, was named the Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year.
The announcement was made at an annual gala held earlier this month at the SpriritBank Event Center. Frable also is the 2013 chairman of the Bixby chamber board.
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