AHI Hosts Business Network Luncheon on "How the SBA Helps America’s Small Businesses" with Guest Speaker Michael J. Pappas

WASHINGTON, DC—On February 10, 2005, the American Hellenic Institute hosted a business network luncheon at the Capital Hilton Hotel with guest speaker, Michael J. Pappas. Mr. Pappas is the Associate Administrator for Field Operations of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and former U.S. Congressman (R-NJ). Mr. Pappas gave a presentation on "How the SBA Helps America’s Small Businesses."

Michael Pappas was appointed as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Associate Administrator for Field Operations in May 2003. As Associate Administrator, Mr. Pappas provides executive direction to 1,700 SBA employees throughout the Agency’s 10 regional and 68 district offices across the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Marshall Islands.

During the one-hour presentation of "How the SBA Helps America’s Small Businesses," Mr. Pappas spoke about the various programs the SBA provides to small businesses as well as a new service the SBA has developed to help match perspective buyers to vendors called "Business Matchmaking." Furthermore, he touched on how the SBA has successfully created new jobs and growth in the economy by giving out more loans to small businesses. This has been accomplished through the SBA’s preferred banks where loans have a federal guarantee and 30 percent of these guarantee loans go to start-up businesses.

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For additional information, please contact Georgia Economou at (202) 785-8430 or at georgia@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our Web site at http://www.ahiworld.org.

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