HAZARD, Ky. – Twelve Hazard Community & Technical College (HCTC) faculty and staff members went back to school this spring and earned certificates of completion from SKED’s Entrepreneurial SMARTS. It’s their students who will reap the benefit.
HCTC graduates are pictured front row from left: Sandy Campbell, workforce liaison; Shelly Sturgill, CADD/surveying instructor; Natasha Watts, visual communications and multimedia professor and Shawn Neace, telemedicine instructor; back row from left: Rachael Sexton, cosmetology; Doug Niece, construction technology; April Wireman, communications instructor; Becky Thorpe, EPIC grant director; Kimberly Cunagin, digital careers now grant director; Charmoin Holliday, MIT instructor; Tammy Davis, MIT coordinator and Danny Ingram, electrical technology professor.
This is the first of several such training courses to be hosted at campuses throughout the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. The goal
is to certify faculty and staff to incorporate this valuable entrepreneurship curriculum into their classes, giving their students a jumpstart on their careers.
The course is the result of a partnership between SKED, the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), Shaping our Appalachian Region (SOAR), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the National Center for Resource Development (NCRD).
All graduates of the Hazard session completed the four-session, 12-hour course designed to provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge and resource materials they need to get a new small business off the ground. This training also provides owners of existing small businesses the skills they need to become more successful and grow their businesses. Graduates include: Sandy Campbell, workforce liaison; Shelly Sturgill, CADD/surveying instructor; Natasha Watts, visual communications and multimedia professor; Shawn Neace, telemedicine instructor; Rachael Sexton, cosmetology; and Doug Niece, construction technology; April Wireman, communications instructor; Becky Thorpe, EPIC grant director; Kimberly Cunagin, digital careers now grant director; Charmoin Holliday, MIT instructor; Tammy Davis, MIT coordinator and Danny Ingram, electrical technology professor.
Amanda Kelly, SKED small business training director, conducts the Entrepreneurial SMARTS classes. Kelly is a certified Core Four® Business Planning Course instructor and is among more than 200 trainers from over 80 organizations across the country who have been certified as Core Four® Business Planning Course instructors.
“This was a fun group,” she said. “Class started at 8 a.m., and we were working with a different audience than we normally have, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. It worked out great. The entire faculty was engaged and excited to learn ways to help their students. I’m looking forward to watching their impact in the region in the coming months.” A second Entrepreneurial SMARTS training class begins at Big Sandy Community & Technical College this Friday.
SKED conducts the entrepreneurial and small business training program - Entrepreneurial SMARTS: Simple Methods And Reality-based Training for Success – which is based on a nationally recognized training program called Core Four® Business Planning Course. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has provided funding support for these training sessions.
To date, 524 entrepreneurs and small business owners have gathered in 44 different locations across Southeast Kentucky to receive SMARTS training and gain valuable knowledge that has impacted their business decisions and life plans. Many have gone on to put the knowledge to work in their small businesses, while others have simply benefited from the information. Through it all, the training program has developed into a well-respected and vital part of the region’s small business landscape and has improved the lives of many. Entrepreneurial SMARTS boasts a 94% completion rate.
At Entrepreneurial SMARTS training sessions, entrepreneurs and small business owners are instructed in how to create a business plan including basic knowledge about starting, financing and operating a business and planning for success. Class participants are also given the tools needed to determine if business ownership is for them
Upon successful completion of this training, participants receive a certificate recognizing their achievements and are eligible to apply for business startup or expansion funding from SKED’s loan funds. For information about entrepreneurship training, contact Kelly at (606) 416-2008 or by email at .
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Formed 31 years ago by Fifth District Congressman Hal Rogers to create jobs in Southeast Kentucky, the economic development organization, based in Somerset, serves a 45-county region in Kentucky. Staff works with business owners, small and large, throughout its service area to identify financing solutions to fund their location, expansion and working capital needs.
