Barnett wins national recognition

Suzanne Barnett, director of Valdosta State University's Small Business Development Center (SBDC), has been named one of 10 national recipients of "The Star Performer Award" presented by the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC).

The award was recently presented at the ASBDC fall conference in San Diego, Calif. It is based on several criteria measuring client satisfaction, consultant outputs and professional development efforts.

Barnett said she is honored by the recognition, and proud of the role the VSU SBDC plays in fostering economic development.

"We're here to make a positive difference for business and the people of Georgia," Barnett said. "The most rewarding thing for me is to see people achieve their business dreams."

The area SBDC is a service of VSU and its College of Business Administration and offers a range of services, all free or at a nominal charge, to businesses within a nine-county area.

The SBDC offers a range of professional seminars covering topics like advertising and sales promotion, taxes, mass merchandising secrets and visual merchandising basics.

VSU's Small Business Development Center now serves Lowndes, Brooks, Echols, Lanier, Clinch, Cook, Atkinson, Berrien and Thomas counties. There are 20 SBDC locations throughout Georgia. The program operates in partnership with the University of Georgia Business Outreach Services and the U.S. Small Business Administration.