Coleman Honored by SCORE
Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) executive director, Jim Coleman, was honored for his support and dedication to the Westchester chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) at their annual luncheon last week held at the Gaucho Grill in White Plains.
“Jim has gone out of his way to get the word out about our programs and to remind clients to utilize our services,” said Glenn Shell, SCORE Westchester chair. “He has been a tremendous source of encouragement and has helped us go beyond what we thought possible.”
SCORE Westchester was recently recognized as a Platinum Chapter at the SCORE National Conference in Dallas, due to its expanded programs and record level of attendance at its workshops and seminars. Shell credited this success in large part to SCORE’s partnership with the IDA and Coleman.
Coleman was appointed IDA director by County Executive Rob Astorino seven months ago and in this role has advanced one of the county executive’s primary goals: to help small businesses grow and create jobs for Westchester residents. SCORE Westchester, a non-profit organization affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration, provides advisory and mentoring services to people looking to start or grow a small business. The IDA provides funding to SCORE Westchester on an annual basis. This support is generated from transaction fees paid by corporations that have taken advantage of tax-exempt financing through the IDA and is at no cost to taxpayers.
“I believe in you,” said Coleman. “You are the social workers to business owners. You are their partners, mentors, coaches, and I can’t tell you how much your work means to the county executive and me, because our main goal is to support people like you so that businesses can grow in Westchester County.”
Coleman also serves as director of the county’s Local Development Corporation and liaison to the county’s Minority and Women Business Enterprise Department.
If you or someone you know is interested in starting or growing their own business and would like to take advantage of the many resources available through the county’s Office of Economic Development, please contact Jim Coleman atjcoleman@westchestergov.com or call 914-995-2963.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.