Several community members were on hand Wednesday at Middlesboro’s campus of Southeast Community and Technical College to celebrate Small Business Develop Centers’ Day.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today and celebrating with all of us here at Southeast,” Middlesboro Mayor Rick Nelson said. “This is just another great asset to our growing community.”

“Shout out to our very own Sam Coleman. Our SBDC is located within Middlesboro’s KCTCS campus,” Middlesboro Main Street Director Emily Ayers explained. “We appreciate all you have done and continue to do in our area and for our local entrepreneurs.”

Director Sam Coleman explained the importance of have a small business development center in the area.

“Small Business Development Centers Day is a national, collective proclamation of the success and impact America’s small business development centers have across the nation in economic development and the small business community,” Director Sam Coleman said. “We are celebrating the third annual SBDC Day today.”

Ayers showed appreciation to the development centers for all of the dedicated work they do.

“Thank you America’s Small Business Development Centers for the dedicated work they do day in and day out to build on the success of America’s entrepreneurs,” Ayers exclaimed.

SBDC Day unites the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they serve by sharing the success stories and notable impacts SBDCs collectively have on the small business community at-large.

In the southeast region alone, the SBDC’s counseled and trained nearly 70,000 entrepreneurs in FY 2018.