CHERAW – The Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn meeting was held at the Country Kitchen Restaurant on Dec. 16, with guest speaker, Wade Hicks of the Hartsville local chapter of SCORE attending.

Hicks addressed members about a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. According to www.score.org, SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia and Washington D.C., and has 364 chapters in the United States as well as in U.S territories. SCORE is a partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a nonprofit association. Members of the association focus on the dedication to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. More than 12,400 volunteer counselors provide individual mentoring and business workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. Counselors work with entrepreneurs through every phase of their entrepreneurial venture: generating and assessing ideas, preparing a business plan, raising capital, and managing the operations and finances of the growing venture.

In light of the association, a new SCORE local chapter for the Town of Cheraw is in the process of being formed. The groups will consist of retired individuals with his or her expertise in the business field.

Cheraw Chamber Chairman, Charles Skipper, said that in order to begin a new SCORE Chapter, at least three people must participate, and is on a volunteer basis.

At present, the three people who will be with the new Cheraw local chapter of SCORE include Robert Calhoun, retired from Burlington Industries (now Highland), Joe Witherspoon, retired from Wachovia and retired tax attorney, Lane Brown.

“We are excited about the new chapter starting up in Cheraw,” said Skipper.

“What does SCORE really do?” We help start small businesses and provide information on grants for the small business owner. We do not make business loans but we provide free business counseling services to someone who wants to open a small business or is considering the idea,” said Hicks. According to Hicks, SCORE clients must follow a process by filling out a form naming the type of business and also must answer other related questions.

“We might have to ask some questions about credit and finances. Once all the process is completed, we then can discuss what it takes to help then to know how to prepare a business plan and also what it takes to actually manage a business. These services are free to our clients and we also can provide them with literature and guidelines on how to write a business plan to fit their business. The SBA guarantees the loan but they are not a lender,” Hicks stressed.

Cheraw Mayor Scott Hunter said, “This will be wonderful for Cheraw. We are also happy with the good news we received last week about the Cheraw Post Office staying in its current location.”

Cheraw Visitor’s Bureau Director, Phil Powell, also highlighted on CNN’s surprise visit to Cheraw.

“This was quite an honor to have CNN here and it was great to have two of our local businesses aired on CNN. We have placed those tapings onto our Cheraw website and they will also be on www.youtube.com as well.” Said Powell.

Not only is the Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn event held monthly to update its members about various projects and keeping them informed but to fellowship as well.

For more information call Cheraw Chamber of Commerce President, Patsy Hendley at 843-537-7681.