Cook County Department of Veteran Affairs Hosts Workshop for Entrepreneurship
The Cook County Department of Veteran Affairs (CCDVA) in collaboration with the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) held a small business workshop at the County Building, 118 N. Clark St., on Monday for military veterans. The workshop entitled, Veterans 2 Business (V 2 B), and was open to all veterans who work for Cook County and for those who do not, and for their dependents.
“We are committed to supporting our employee-veterans, and vets throughout the County, with needed programs and services,” said Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. “This workshop is a good example of how the Department of Veterans Affairs is opening doors for vets to pursue opportunities for future success.”
According to Business insider.com, who used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2013, the average unemployment rate for the U.S. last year was 7.4%. The average unemployment rate for veterans of all wars was 6.6%, but the average unemployment rate for post-9/11 vets was 9.0%.
“The V 2 B was created through a collaboration of myself here at Cook County, SBA and the WBDC, Women’s Business Development Center. We’ve come together to provide a resource for veterans,” said Bill Browne, Director of Veterans Affairs at Cook County. “What we’re looking at is for is business owners or people who want to be business owners who want to find out more information as to what they have to do to become certified by the county or the state in getting their business.”
Browne, a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran who coordinates the events, told The Chicago Citizen Newspaper that his attendance expectation was between 50-100 veterans. The workshop was broken into two sections, business basics and the finance.
Browne stated that the CCDVA has sponsored events on veterans’ benefits, legal affairs, VA home loans, etc. on a typically quarterly basis in response to the suggestions and concerns of veterans.
Virgil Mathis, a Vietnam Army veteran who served from 1966-1699 who attended the workshops told The Chicago Citizen Newspaper that he learned about how to obtain certification for government contracts. Mathis added, “For the beginner it provides a mental view of how to get started. You’ve got to know how to get started and you’ve got to know about business plans, contracts, and things like that. There [are] a lot of opportunities available to veterans but more veterans need to come to places like this to find out more.”
Finance work shop presenters included: Sharnell C. Martin, Finance and Management Consultant at Total Capital Solutions, WBDC; Arthur Williams, Jr., Investment Portfolio Manager, State of Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Tyrone McGowan, Loan Officer, Accion Chicago; Courtney D. Pogue, Deputy Director of Economic Development for Cook County and Marcus Marcus Matthews, Chase JP Morgan.
Business and certification work shop presenters included: Eli Washington, Cook County Compliance; Ron Miller, Business Opportunity Specialist. Small Business Administration (SBA); Paul Cerpa, Deputy Director, Business Enterprise Program, Central Management Service (CMS); andFreida Curry, Director, Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Women's Business Development Center-Chicago.
Created by Preckwinkle in December2012, the CCDVA’s mission is to expand opportunities and develop programs for veterans in Cook County.
For more information visit www.cookcountyil.gov or email veterans.affairs@cookcountyil.gov.
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