FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Lance Sexton, director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business, was named "Arkansas Small Business Consultant of the Year" by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

The Associated Industries of Arkansas Inc. and the U.S. Small Business Administration also sponsored the "Big Names in Small Business" awards, which were handed out at the 12th annual Small Business Awards luncheon on Monday, June 3, at the Hilton Inn Riverfront in North Little Rock.

Sexton joined the University of Arkansas SBDC as director in August 1998. He received a B.S.B.A. with honors and MBA from the Walton College. During graduate school, he was a graduate assistant consultant for the Small Business Development Center. As director of the SBDC, he makes numerous public appearances and teaches a variety of small business training programs. He has experience with both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

Previously for nine years, Sexton was an associate extension specialist for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Small Business Development Center and adjunct faculty for the marketing and management departments at the UALR College of Business Administration. He also was adjunct faculty for the Webster University’s Graduate School of Business, Little Rock Campus, in both the marketing and management departments from 1986-1992. From 1992 to 1998, Sexton served as president of LAS Inc. d/b/a Sexton Electronics, a retail electronics business in Clarksville.

Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams said, "Lance has provided new direction and leadership to the SBDC as well as providing exceptional business consulting assistance to the Northwest Arkansas small business community. We are also proud of his success in coaching our students in the Governor’s Award for Entrepreneurial Development business plan competition."

Sexton served as faculty sponsor for the 2002 Governor’s Award first place business plan, Yard Homes, created by three Walton College managerial MBA students. They won $38,000 in the competition. In the 2001 competition, Sexton served as faculty sponsor for both first and second place winners. Business plans for Razorback Bowling Center and Ozark Smokin’ Spice won a total of $50,000 for the students who created them. In addition, Sexton sponsored the third place winner, Ozark Smokin’ Spice, in the 2002 Southwest Business Planning Competition, sponsored by the Rice University Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Sexton said, "The rapid and vigorous growth of business in Arkansas has created new and exciting opportunities for people considering or actually engaged in operating a small business in northwest Arkansas. The SBDC at the University of Arkansas strives to deliver high-quality service to all our clients in three areas: seminars and conferences, one-on-one counseling, and resource center."

The clients receive a variety of consulting services, ranging from business planning assistance to loan packaging assistance. The SBDC’s 2001 customer satisfaction survey indicated that over 90 percent of the clients were extremely satisfied with their service.

The University of Arkansas, SBDC program is partially funded by the Walton College and the Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC). The ASBDC is administered through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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