VEDA sees double-digit increases

VERMONT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (VEDA)
WINS PERFORMANCE AWARDS FROM TWO FEDERAL AGENCIES
AUTHORITY ENDS 30TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES IN COMMERCIAL LOAN VOLUME
Stowe - The Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA) ended its 30th anniversary year with key national recognition, receiving awards from both the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Farm Service Agency for their work. Also, for the second year running, VEDA saw a double- digit increase in commercial lending activity. VEDA Chief Executive Officer Jo Bradley announced the awards, and the Authority's 2004 fiscal year performance at VEDA's 30th Annual Meeting, held this year in Stowe.
Governor James Douglas, guest speaker at the VEDA event, and former member of VEDA's Board of Directors during his tenure as State Treasurer, applauded VEDA's recent accomplishments. "VEDA plays a vital and integral role in helping to grow Vermont's economy," the Governor said. "This organization has come such a long way since its inception in 1974. Because of VEDA's hard work, innovative lending solutions, and partnership approach to everything they do, hundreds of Vermont businesses have started and expanded, creating good-paying jobs along the way."
U.S. Small Business Administration Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hayward was on hand in Stowe to present VEDA with the SBA 504 Lender Award. The award, the first of its kind in Vermont, recognizes VEDA's work on a national scale as a high-performing Certified Development Corporation (CDC). CDC's are financing organizations who are authorized by the SBA to make low-interest, long-term federal loans to qualified borrowers.
"When legislative changes allowed multi-state CDC expansion in 2003, VEDA's attention to 504 loans instantly galvanized into action," said Darcy Carter, Acting District Director, SBA Vermont District Office. "Through Jo Bradley's leadership, VEDA decided to focus its resources on meeting Vermont's 504 needs, a decision which crystallized into a record number of VEDA loans totaling almost $7 million, giving Vermont the biggest percentage increase in SBA 504 volume anywhere in the country."
Bradley noted that VEDA's SBA 504 Loan Program has become an important part of the Authority's portfolio, offering uniquely attractive terms to borrowers and commercial lenders alike. "This program brings new energy and breadth to Vermont's business lending options," Bradley said. "At VEDA, we'll continue to work hard to promote the SBA 504 loan option to qualifying business and expansion projects."
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VEDA's agricultural lending program, the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation (VACC) also received a national award, Bradley announced. Along with the Vermont Farm Service Agency (FSA), VACC received the 2004 Farm Service Agency Administrator's Award for Service to Agriculture for their collaborative work in assisting Vermont's farmers through the 2003-2004 economic crisis brought on by record low milk prices. The loan program, passed by the Vermont General Assembly in April, 2003 was jointly administered by VACC and Vermont FSA staff, helping Vermont farmers get their crops in the ground, and stemming losses suffered by dairy farmers due to low milk prices. The program assisted 102 farm families, making over $4.2 million in loans. Vermont set a national standard in implementing the program, by creating a system of shared technology between VACC and FSA staff to process loans more efficiently, and for dramatically improving loan approval time. The average time for loan approval under the emergency program was just over 6 days.
"The unique partnership between Vermont's Farm Service Agency offices, the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation, and the Agency of Agriculture provided low-cost financing to many Vermont farm families who had no where else to turn with the plummeting dairy prices a year ago," Bradley explained. "One of Vermont's strengths is our ability to bring people together to solve a problem such as this. Our farms are an integral part of our economy and we all worked together to make this happen."
FSA Vermont Executive Director Roger Allbee concurred. "This loan program shows the impact that a few hard-working and dedicated people can have," he said. "In FY2003, there was more FSA loan activity in Vermont than at any time in the last ten years.
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