Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center consultants from the U of A were honored at the 2024 ASBTDC Spring Network Meeting in Little Rock as outstanding performers within the statewide network.

The Capital Acquistion Award of Excellence recognizes top performers based on the amount of loans and other forms of capital investment they help clients attain. Mary Beth Brooks, center director, assisted with $14 million, and Lori Lieblong, business consultant, helped attain $7 million in capital acquistions. Brooks and Lieblong also received recognition for the number of funded capital projects.

Catherine Corley, business and innovation consultant; Carolina Mejia, bilingual business consultant; and Brooks also received Annual Employee Excellence awards as Values Ambassadors. This award is given in recognition of exceptional service, integrity, collaboration, impact and inclusion.

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the U of A helps small businesses in Northwest Arkansas thrive. With offices in Fayetteville and Bentonville, ASBTDC consultants provide one-on-one confidential consulting at no cost to the client and in-person and virtual trainings and workshops to help entrepreneurs gain the knowledge and skill to be successful.

The ASBTDC at the U of A is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is a unit of the Division of Economic Development, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.