DyNAMC Dispatch September 2016 Issue 6 | Page 26

DyNAMC Covers Historical State of the Region Address: SBA Regional Administrator Cassius Butts Delivers First of its Kind Address in Atlanta, GA. By Sheila Kay DyNAMC Editor at Large Cassius Butts, U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Southeast, in his determination to provide excellence in service, delivered the Inaugural State of the Region Address at the Georgia Tech Enterprise Business Institute in Atlanta, Georgia on February 2, 2015. DyNAMC covered this event, and I had the privilege of interviewing him after the address. As the Editor at Large I was excited to be in attendance; event coverage is a service available nationwide via DyNAMC’s media platform. The Inaugural State of the Region address was well attended (in person and via webcast) by business owners, entrepreneurs, local and national dignitaries, publishers and other media, corporation representatives and other supporters. Throughout the address, Mr. Butts emphasized its theme - the invitation to “Live Your Entrepreneurial Dream”. He shared the progress made within the nine districts of the Southeast Region through concerted efforts of he and his team with the help of supporters. Among many successes is SBA’s focus on the underserved communities by eliminating loan fees for loans under $150,000 during this fiscal year. Also noteworthy are the region’s portfolio of 753 firms in the Outstanding Development Agency Program which were awarded $2.3 billion in contracts from federal agencies, as well as continued diversity support by SBA in lending to veteran, women, minority and LGBT business owners. After the address Mr. Butts spoke to a small group in a separate room, acknowledging and thanking supporters individually. Several others, including Ed Baker, publisher of The Atlanta Business Chronicle and Craig Richard, President and CEO of Invest Atlanta, were invited to offer their own brief personal comments about the achievements reached by Cassius Butts during