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The Small Business Development Center at Lamar State College Port Arthur to host the second annual Small Business Symposium.

The event will be held Sept. 12 at the Robert “Bob” Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

LSCPA SBDC coverage area includes, Port Arthur, Groves, Nederland, Port Neches, Bridge City, Orange and Vidor municipalities.

All Southeast Texas area small businesses are welcome to register at sbdc.uh.edu/assnfe/.

The $30 per person registration fee includes lunch and all breakout sessions.

In addition, businesses who provide services to small business owners are also invited to participate as an exhibitor, contact LSCPA SBDC at 409-984-6530 for more information on how to participate as an exhibitor in the Resource Fair.

The University of Houston APEX Accelerator will offer education and guidance to individuals interested in selling their goods and services to federal, state, and local government.

They provide no-cost government contracting assistance to individuals in 28 counties in and around the cities of Houston, Beaumont and College Station.

The UH APEX Accelerator is funded in part through a cooperative agreement from the Department of Defense through a program that is administered by the Office of Small Business Programs.

The Symposium will include morning and afternoon breakout sessions with topics including How to Secure SBA Guaranteed Loans – presented by the Small Business Administration, as well as a Meet the Lender session (with local lenders attending), Business Plan Basics, Introduction to QuickBooks, Tax Information for Small Businesses, Social Media Marketing and many other sessions.

A keynote speaker will take the stage at lunch as Norm Van Eeden Petersman holds a “Strong Towns Curbside Chat.”

In the Curbside Chat, Petersman will explain how so many American cities have found themselves in decline after decades of “growth.”

The problem lies in the current model of development — one which values short-term gains over long-term prosperity.

Strong Towns hypothesizes that to strengthen our cities and ensure their economic success, we must look to traditional ways of building cities. In this presentation, Petersman will show how active citizens, local officials and design professionals can change the negative trajectory in their towns and help them to become more resilient — no matter what challenges lie ahead.

This core Strong Towns presentation is a game-changer for communities looking to grow more resilient in an uncertain future.

“We are excited to host this event to help local, small businesses offer their products and services to local, state, and federal government entities,” said Dana Espinal, Executive Director of the SBDC at Lamar State College Port Arthur.

“Small businesses can benefit greatly from even one government contract and it is important they have the resources to fill those contracts.”

Local, small business owners and managers are invited to attend the symposium for a half day or all-day sessions.

Organizations that serve small businesses such as lenders, service companies and office supply companies are welcome to attend as exhibitors.