SBA officials make it their business to meet owners statewide
Dr. Kelly Hunt is district director of the Western Pennsylvania district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Observer-Reporter
Brown
Nordberg
Wilson
Bulger
Daniel Nordberg and Steve Bulger were wheeling around Pennsylvania this week, doing their due diligence for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Their focus was on small businesses operating – and struggling to operate – in rural areas of the state. The struggle, of course, is pandemic-related and financially related.
Nordberg, director of the SBA’s Office of Rural Affairs, and Bulger, administrator of the Mid-Atlantic Region, toured to the western, eastern and central parts of the state to speak with small business owners. They discussed the Paycheck Protection Program and other matters.
“We not only want to help, but to listen to feedback on assistance business owners may need,” Nordberg said. “It’s important to hear firsthand from the owners on what we do well and what we can do better.
“One of our priorities is to bridge the gap between urban and rural population centers. We want to assure that counties like Washington and Greene have access to services the way Philadelphia and Pittsburgh do on business counseling, government contracting and getting resources to foreign markets.”
The two officials were in the southwestern corner Wednesday, visiting Omnis Bailey, a refinery that – when built – is intended to convert coal waste into high-quality clean carbon fuel. The Consol Energy plant will be located at the company’s Pennsylvania Mining Complex, two-thirds of which are in Washington and Greene counties, with one-third in West Virginia. The complex is made up of Bailey, Enlow Fork and Harvey mines.
Their three-day, east-to-west excursion began Monday in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Pittston, continued in Blairsville and New Florence and finished at Omnis Bailey.
The SBA, Nordberg said, has overseen the distribution of “a half-trillion dollars in PPP loans, a significant infusion to small businesses.” He said the “uniform” response from owners has been “PPP has really been a lifeline. They were able to retain employees at a difficult time.”
That program was established March 27 through the CARES Act.
Nordberg said he is gratified to find out “how resilient and innovative rural business owners are, with their efficiencies and how they adapt their business models, and how their communities rally around them.”
“There was a sense of optimism from those owners, which was very encouraging.”
The Rural Affairs director had lofty praise for Kelly Hunt, Centerville native and director of SBA’s Pittsburgh district office, which serves 27 counties: “She’s fantastic. Her work product speaks for itself.”
Hunt said in a statement: “This (tour) was a great opportunity to see firsthand how thousands of our rural small businesses are responding and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. . . . Our agency learns so much about our customers by visiting and listening to their needs.”
Mississippi leader
A television news anchor with deep Washington County roots has been been judged to be one of the most influential leaders in Mississippi.
Byron Brown was named to the Mississippi Top 50 list, an annual ranking of top leaders in the Gulf Coast state.
Brown is an anchor for WJTV in Jackson, and the son of Larry Brown, formerly of Canonsburg, and Melba Richards Brown, formerly of Washington. His grandparents are the late Sam and Evelyn Brown of Canonsburg, and the late Melvin and Lucy Richards of Washington.
First Federal board
WANB Radio is not the only place Douglas A. Wilson is being heard.
The on-air personality, known at various times as “Crazy Dougie” and “The Greaser,” has joined the board of directors of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County. He was recently appointed to fill a vacancy.
A resident of Jefferson Township, Greene County, Wilson has worked at the Waynesburg radio station since 1992. He is WANB’s operations manager and morning host, where he takes on the persona of “Crazy Dougie.” On the Sunday night “Greene County Gold” oldies show, he is recognized as “The Greaser.”
Charles W. Trump Jr., First Federal’s president and chief executive officer – and a member of the eight-person board – said in a statement the “team welcomes Doug . . . Considering Doug’s appreciation for family and community, he is a perfect fit for our board.”
Wilson, a father of three, is an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication at Waynesburg University. He also is the faculty adviser for the radio station at his alma mater.
Mon Valley Initiative
Homestead-based Mon Valley Initiative is getting a $183,639 housing counseling grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The funding will support housing counseling services, including foreclosure avoidance and rental counseling services by families affected by the pandemic.
“Housing counseling can be the difference between a Mon Valley family keeping their home or losing it due to the financial impacts of COVID-19,” Joe DeFelice, regional administrator of HUD’s Mid-Atlantic region, said in a prepared statement.
HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide services that also include helping buyers to evaluate their readiness for a home purchase, and assisting them in navigating that process.
MVI has received $693,126 in housing counseling grants this year, including an initial award of $509,487 in June. MVI receives preference because it provides counseling to residents in Opportunity Zones.
Mon Valley Hospital
S.P. Hewie, M.D., and Linda Horrell have been elected chairman and first vice chairman, respectively, of the Monongahela Valley Hospital Foundation board.
Hewie, of Carroll Township, is a retired anesthesiologist who joined the hospital’s medical staff in 1985. Horrell is a co-owner of MarBill Diamonds and Jewelry, Belle Vernon.