Vermont Small Business Development Center announces selection of Ross Hart as STATE STAR

State Director, Linda Rossi, announced that Ross Hart has been selected as the 2013 State Star of Vermont Small Business Development Center.
“I am pleased to make this announcement, and to recognize Ross for his contributions and commitment to our organization over the past five years. He has become a highly respected member of the VtSBDC team.”
Ross is the Area Business Advisor for the Northeast Kingdom, covering Orleans, Caledonia and Essex counties. Ross was nominated by his peers, who described him as someone who is “always willing to pitch in and help others even though he has a large territory of his own”. Another advisor commented saying, “I personally find him dependable, upbeat and supportive and feel he epitomizes VtSBDC values.”
“It is very humbling to be recognized by my peers in this way- especially given the high quality work they do all around the state” said Ross Hart, “but none of us does what we do for recognition. We all get a lot of fulfillment and satisfaction from truly making a difference in the communities we serve.”
When speaking with one of Ross’s clients they had this to say, “We were referred to the Vermont Small Business Development Center (Ross Hart – VTSBDC) when we took over the family business. Under his unfailing advisement and determination he helped us wade through the development of a business plan and cash flow projection for our company which, at the time, was experiencing both financial and personnel difficulties. In addition to the business plan and cash flow reporting he advised us on many aspects of our company and made recommendations for changes that would help the recovery. We took a number of these recommendations under advisement and implemented them. Ross is a very upfront person and he didn’t paint a pretty picture of our situation. My brother and I being the determined people we are, moved forward with many changes and the company began to recover.
We cannot thank Ross and the VTSBDC for sticking with us and believing in us. I cannot recommend this organization enough. It takes courage and determination to recover from difficult situations like we were facing and Ross made that a bit easier with his support and guidance.”
Ross will be recognized for this honor at the national ASBDC conference in Orlando, FL in September. America’s Small Business Development Center Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses.