Sharon Bedard named business facilitator for Grow! Highland County
Grow! Highland County, the grass-roots economic development program that has been helping local entrepreneurs realize their dreams for two years, is pleased to announce its new business facilitator, Sharon Bedard.
Bedard, a Highland County resident for the last seven years, takes Grow! Highland County into its third year with more than 130 clients and having assisted in the growth of more than 30 new jobs for local residents.
Her mission is simple: Make herself available to any business that wants assistance in the three areas of business management-product, marketing and financial management. Sharon will work to bring together any number of resources to support entrepreneurs and small businesses to strengthen and grow Highland County’s economy.
All services are free and confidential and available to anyone in Highland County.
Bedard and John Hern, a member of the Board of Managers of the Highland County Enterprise Initiative, met with The Highland County Press this week to discuss the program.
Bedard explains Grow! Highland County, saying, “It is a great program that helps people start a business or fine tune an existing one. It is free and confidential. We are here to help.”
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Grow! Highland County is a partnership between the Highland County Chamber of Commerce and Southern State Community College, funded through a grant from USDA-Rural Development and based on the proven model of Enterprise Facilitation, which fosters entrepreneurship and small business development within Highland County.
"Ideally, we would like funding to be one-third from grants, one-third from private sources, and one-third from a city-county partnership, that could include Hillsboro, Greenfield, Lynchburg and Leesburg," Bedard said.
Typically, the office operates on an approximate annual budget of $75,000.
To date, the program has provided services and consultation to approximately 130 small business ventures in Highland County. More than 30 local jobs have been created through these partnerships.
"Hopefully, these businesses will grow and employ more people in Highland County," Hern said.
For more information about Grow! Highland County, call Sharon at (937) 661-1437, or visit the website at www.growhighland county.com.