CommunityWorks celebrates second annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Event
June 6, 2017
Today, June 6th, CommunityWorks will celebrate their second annual Excellence In Entrepreneurship event at the Clemson ONE building located in downtown Greenville. The event will honor four Upstate entrepreneurs and two microenterprise advocates who have all demonstrated success and a passion for entrepreneurship.
This event occurs in tandem with South Carolina’s Microbusiness Month, a month dedicated to businesses comprised of five or fewer employees. In South Carolina, 87% of all businesses are considered microbusinesses. These business are an integral part of the economic development in our local communities. CommunityWorks accepted award nominations from microbusinesses and their champions throughout the state.
The awards to be presented:
- Young Entrepreneur of the Year, presented to Harold Hughes, Bandwagon
- Minority Owned Microbusiness of the Year, presented to Jeannette Houchens, HIT Services
- Woman Owned Microbusiness of the Year, presented to Julie Maddox, Benji Bars
- Entrepreneurial Success Award, presented to Douglas Lee, Little Rabbit Trucking
- Microbusiness Champion of the Year, presented to Tammie Hoy, StartME:Northside and Nika White, Minority Business Accelerator-Greenville Chamber of Commerce Diversity and Inclusion Initiative
Entrepreneurs and sponsors will gather to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and the positive impact these microbusinesses have throughout our communities. Leighton Cubbage, Board Chairman of Serrus Capital Partners, will deliver remarks focusing on the importance of microbusinesses in building local economies.
Cubbage is recognized throughout Greenville for his entrepreneurial background, specifically within the telecom industry. Serrus Capital Partners seeks to manage the capital of customers as well as strategically grow portfolios of properties throughout the community. Leighton is an advocate for entrepreneurs and has received numerous awards for his efforts including the South Carolina Entrepreneur of the year in 1993.
“Microbusinesses are the cornerstone of our local economies,” said Deborah McKetty, President of CommunityWorks. “As a U.S Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution, we know all too well the barriers many underserved entrepreneurs face when trying to access capital to start, build, and grow their business. Each year we want to celebrate the successes of microbusinesses in our community and to honor the accomplishments of those entrepreneurs who have succeeded in developing their businesses.”
ABOUT COMMUNITYWORKS
CommunityWorks was established in 2008 as a local housing trust fund through a partnership between the City of Greenville, United Way of Greenville County and Greenville County Redevelopment Authority. This group worked together to support affordable housing and community development as a critical vehicle for fostering stable families and healthy communities. Since that time, CommunityWorks has transformed into a non-profit financial organization and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that is committed to empowering people to become financially stable through financial education, lending and investing. Since its inception, CW has generated over $135 million in local economic impact and has provided 25,000 hours of training and coaching, connected 459 first time homebuyers with downpayment assistance, provided over $2.2 million loans to startups and existing small businesses, and dispersed $4.6 million in affordable housing and community loans that have created or preserved over 330 affordable housing units.
To learn more about CommunityWorks, visit their website http://communityworkscarolina.org/.
