Louisiana Entrepreneur Todd Graves, Owner of Raising Cane's, Wins the 2010 SCORE Award for Outstanding Socially Progressive Business

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Aug 17, 2010, 09:21 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" honors Todd Graves, owner of Raising Cane's based in Baton Rouge, La., with the SCORE Award for Outstanding Socially Progressive Business. He earned this honor for his contributions to his community, exemplary achievements in his field, and overall business success. Graves will accept this award, which is sponsored by The Office Depot Foundation, at the 2nd Annual SCORE Awards and black-tie gala.

Graves and other SCORE Awards winners will be recognized during a September 16 event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Learn more at www.score.org/score_awards.html.

Todd Graves recently celebrated the 100th location of his Raising Cane's restaurant chain. When he started his business in 1996, he contacted SCORE for financial and marketing advice. Now one of the food and beverage industry's fastest growing companies, Raising Cane's has become a fast food sensation, due in large part to a menu built around Todd's famous fresh chicken fingers.

"I met with several SCORE counselors as we were working on our business plan," he says. "I attended the SCORE one-day seminar on Starting and Managing a Successful Business." Todd worked with several mentors at Baton Rouge SCORE on issues such as financial projections, management issues and marketing. They also encouraged Todd to think through every aspect of his business idea, including some he hadn't considered.

"Meeting with these seasoned professionals was invaluable to me," he adds. "They taught me the importance of business planning and guided me through the process of obtaining an SBA-backed loan. The counselors were able to give me a reality check on the business world that I didn't have experience with. They also made sure I was committed to my business and would see it through so there was some accountability."

Helping the community is an important element to the Raising Cane's philosophy. In 2009, the company gave more than $1 million to the communities that house its restaurants.

For more information, contact Christine Banning at 800/634-0245 or [email protected]. To attend the SCORE Awards, contact Mark Dobosz at 941/371-3107 or [email protected]. Learn more at www.score.org/score_awards.html.

About The SCORE Foundation: The mission of The SCORE Foundation is to support and leverage the work of SCORE by soliciting, investing and managing resources for the benefit of SCORE. Learn more about The SCORE Foundation at www.scorefoundation.org.

About SCORE: Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 8.5 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year, SCORE provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing small businesses. More than 12,400 business experts volunteer as mentors in 364 chapters serving local communities with entrepreneur education to help grow 1 million small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800/634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org and www.score.org/women. Connect with SCORE at www.facebook.com/SCOREFans, http://twitter.com/SCOREMentors and www.scorecommunity.org.

Contact Information

Christine Banning

VP of Marketing & Communications

800/634-0245; [email protected]

SOURCE SCORE Association