TUESDAY: Obama Cabinet Member for Small Business to Visit Wausau, Wis., and Highlight Economic Opportunity

WAUSAU, Wis., Sept. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the voice of small business on President Obama's Cabinet, will be joined by Wausau city officials for a visit with small businesses to highlight economic opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Following a meeting with the mayor and "Main Street" tour, she will host a roundtable discussion with community and business leaders and visit a veteran-owned Wausau machining business.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 2016, approximate times:

WHERE: 9:15 am Wausau City Hall, 407 Grant St, Wausau, WI 54403
10 am 3^rd Street tour with stops at downtown businesses

• Evolutions in Design, 626 3rd St, Wausau, WI 54403
• Downtown Grocery (future location), 607 N 3rd St, Wausau, WI 54401
• Janke Book Store, 505 3rd St, Wausau, WI 54403
• Mint Café, 422 3rd St, Wausau, WI 54403
• Jalapenos Mexican Restaurante, 300 3rd St, Wausau, WI 54403 (lunch closed to media)

12:30 pm Wausau Region Chamber, 200 Washington St #120, Wausau, WI 54403

2 pm Applied Fab and Machining, 7811 Steward Ave., Wausau, WI 54401
(Army veteran-owned small business)

WHO: SBA Administrator and Cabinet Member Maria Contreras-Sweet
Wausau Mayor Robert Mielke
Wausau River District Executive Director Elizabeth Fields
Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Dave Eckmann
Wausau small business owners

WHY: Small businesses are the primary driver behind the record 78 months of consecutive job growth and the engine of America's economy. Under the Obama Administration, SBA-backed small business loans have supported 4.5 million jobs. The federal agency has launched several highly successful initiatives to better serve the U.S. small business community and promote job growth, capital investment and economic development. Accessing capital to start and grow a business is simpler than ever thanks to automated lending tools such as the LINC platform that matches borrowers and lenders, as well as other improvements including waived fees on small dollar loans, new in-language materials in Spanish and for the deaf/hard of hearing, SBA's ready-to-use Business Smart Toolkit to equip faith-based and community organizations to help aspiring entrepreneurs, expanded support for accelerators, export programs and more.

About the Small Business Administration:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012 has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation.  The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses.  Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. www.sba.gov

Contact: [email protected], 312-888-6516
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news 
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Advisory Number: MA16-48

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

Related Links

http://www.sba.gov