Mrs. Alfreda Jarrett Reynolds, Brunswick County Director of Economic Development, with Mr. Randy Brown, Business Services Manager for the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity.
On April 19, 2022, a workshop was held at the Brunswick County Conference Center that provided information about Small Women-owned and Minority-owned business (SWaM) certification. This event was hosted by the Brunswick County Department of Economic Development, The Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority and the Metropolitan Business League. A variety of businesses and non-profit organizations were represented at this event. During the session, participants were given information on how to complete all of the requirements of obtaining their SWaM certification. SWaM is a state program of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purpose is to enhance procurement opportunities for SWaM businesses participating in state-funded projects.
Micah White opened the meeting by welcoming guests and introducing the guest speaker, Mr. Randy M. Brown from the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity. Mr. Brown, who serves as Business Services Manager, is a SWaM expert. His presentation detailed the process that needs to be completed for certification and was very enlightening and informative. The guests present had many questions and Mr. Brown was able to give answers and provide best practices for businesses seeking SWaM certification. At the end of Mr. Brown's presentation, Mrs. Alfreda Jarrett Reynolds, Director of Economic Development thanked him for traveling to Brunswick to train and assist our small business owners. Mrs. Reynolds shares, “When it comes to economic development, regional and state partnerships are so important. I am so grateful that Mr. Brown came and shared his knowledge with our small business owners. His expertise in this subject matter is vast, and having him share his insight and experience was very advantageous to our small businesses”
Mrs. Reynolds then turned the meeting over to Michael Grimm from Poor Jellyfish LLC. Mr. Grimm shared that he will begin providing workshops (in person and virtually) to assist small business owners with using Google, social media and other digital marketing avenues to promote and expand their businesses. The first session is to be on April 25th at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. To sign up, please go to www.bcmap.net. Mr. Grimm will be holding sessions through April and May at the Brunswick County Conference Center. Please contact the Brunswick County Department of Economic Development or the Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority for more information.
Alfreda Jarrett Reynolds, the Brunswick County Director of Economic Development shared, “I am thrilled to see such enthusiasm for the Merchants Assistance Program. We have so many talented and resourceful business owners who just need some instruction, training and direction to really move their business forward. This program is a direct result of feedback that we have received from local businesses over the last year. It is very gratifying to be able to fill an obvious need in our community. I want to thank Randy Brown, Micah White, Mike Dotti, and the IDA staff for their support, leadership, and assistance as we continue to execute this program for our local businesses.”
If you are a small business owner or are thinking of starting a business, please contact the Brunswick County Department of Economic Development at 434-848-3107 or the Brunswick County IDA at 434-848-0248 for more information and so that you can be added to our mailing list for future events.
To see photos from the event, click HERE