Date: February 10, 2006
Contact: Eric Matanyi
Phone: (708) 534-4044
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: e-matanyi@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, Illinois, February 10, 2006 - The CenterPoint Business Development Center at Governors State University announced today that it has been named as a site for an Illinois Entrepreneurship Center.
The new CenterPoint Entrepreneurship Center (CPEC) is one of 17 centers opened under Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns initiative. Under the open-ended plan, the Governor plans to restore economic opportunity statewide by focusing on business growth and employment at the regional level.
“The addition of the Entrepreneurship Center will make CenterPoint the most comprehensive regional resource for small business,” said CenterPoint director Hilary Burkinshaw. “The community will benefit because the additional services will allow us to help more business owners, assist with more business financing, and create and retain more jobs for the region.
Over the past five years, CenterPoint has impacted business in the south suburbs by helping to create or retain more than 1,700 jobs. It has also assisted small businesses in securing over $58 million dollars in financing.
The new CPEC provides direct assistance, guidance, and support services to high-growth potential firms and serves as a coordination hub for entrepreneurial development throughout the Chicago region. The center’s mission is to make a definable and lasting economic impact on the region by helping entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses build viable, sustainable, and profitable businesses.
In addition to guidance and counseling services, CPEC administers a matching grant award program targeted at high-growth companies in the Chicagoland area. The purpose of the program is to assist businesses with high-growth potential in obtaining professional services that assist in the acquisition of capital, increase in revenue, or other accelerated support services.
CenterPoint has named Bryan Stubbs as the new CPEC director. Before joining CenterPoint, Stubbs served as director of the Small Business Development Center for the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago. Prior to his work at the Industrial Council, Bryan spent eight years as the founder and president of Symbiotic, Inc., a Chicago based business consulting organization in the entertainment/music industry that catered to both start-ups and established firms worldwide.
“Bryan brings a wealth of real-world and small business experience to CenterPoint,” Burkinshaw commented. “With his expertise, we’ll be able to assist businesses regardless of their size, stage of growth, or location.”
Stubbs was also recently elected co-chair of the Illinois Entrepreneurship and Small Business Growth Association (ISBGA) 2006 statewide conference. As co-chair, he will plan all details of this year’s three day conference. The event is attended by more than 150 business development professionals representing the Illinois State Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
For more information about services available to Illinois small business owners please contact the CenterPoint Small Business Development Center at (708) 534-4929 or visit www.centerpointgsu.com.
