SBA bestows two awards upon local recipients

Two business professionals from northeastern Pennsylvania are being honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Philadelphia District Office as winners of a 2010 Small Business Award.

The SBA’s Women in Business Champion of the Year is Donna Simpson, consultant manager with the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
Simpson, an accounting specialist, has been a member of the SBDC’s staff since 1993. She coordinates a variety of programs, including the University of Scranton SBDC “Award for Woman Entrepreneur,” which she helped to create. She is also responsible for the SBDC’s “Women Win!” series of educational seminars.

The SBA Entrepreneurial Success Award winners are Charles Cohen, president and Rick Cohen, vice president, of Benco Dental in Wilkes-Barre. The company was founded in 1930 by Benjamin Cohen and has grown into one of the nation’s fastest-growing dental supply distributors. 

Benco also operates facilities in Indiana, Florida and Texas, and recently relocated its new NEPA headquarters, a 272,800-square-foot showroom in the CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park in Jenkins Township.

National experience

Simpson, a resident of Olyphant, is a native of the Back Mountain area and is employed by the University of Scranton. She says her mission is to share with small business the knowledge she reaped during her 30-year business career.

By virtue of previous employment in states such as Alabama, Mississippi and Delaware, Simpson brings a true national focus to her job. She began working for the SBDC 17 years ago on a part-time basis, and today she impacts all facets of the entrepreneur ventures that seek SBDC help by while offering consultation, seminars and information resources.

“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” says Simpson. “Our mission is to help people to start and grow their business and, as part of this, I’m a big supporter of the global women’s movement.”

During the Great Recession, Simpson kept plugging away and helping entrepreneurs with start-ups. She says that role has not been to serve as a cheerleader, but as a messenger of sometimes harsh reality— the SBDC wants business ventures to be successful and the truth about financing or the viability of a business plan ensures that success.

“We perform honest evaluations of ideas and give reality checks on subjects such as credit,” says Simpson. “We’re the independent party that needs to be truthful about any grandiose ideas our entrepreneurs may come up with.”

Simpson considers the best part of her job to be variety, and says the worst part is dealing with the tight funding now available to entrepreneurs.

Progressive team

Matt Van Stone, marketing representative for Benco, refers to brothers Rick and Charles Cohen as a very approachable and progressive first-name management team that has achieved growth without exceeding the company’s resources. He says the pair maintains a sincere focus on both their associates and their customers, and they have been particularly effective at bringing realistic applications to the market.

Benco’s annual report lists the name of every company employee. For 2009, this list featured more than 1,220 names. “You can tell the business is in the Cohens’ blood,” says Van Stone. “I don’t ever remember a layoff here.”

He says the new corporate headquarters is a one-stop site for customers to view technological equipment from chairs to dental dams, as well as to meet with industry specialists such as dental office designers.

Van Stone adds that the effects of the Great Recession have impacted the dental supply business. However, in the case of Benco, he says the company’s overall sales remained reasonably steady.

“We benefited from lots of forward thinking displayed by the Cohens,” says Van Stone. “They have remained upbeat and passionate about their beliefs.”

Formal recognition

David Dickson, the SBA’s Philadelphia district director, says the award winners will be formally recognized during an SBA day at a ballpark celebration in Philadelphia on May 6. An award ceremony and luncheon will take place, followed by attendance at a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park.

He says that as a regional commemoration of National Small Business Week, this event is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of small business and its advocates in eastern Pennsylvania.

“Every year, the award winners honored at this event have truly distinguished themselves,” says Dickson. “However, this year’s winners are a special beacon of hope to their fellow small business owners and to their communities as a whole. These exemplary folks are living proof that the tenacity of the small business community cannot be underestimated. The indomitable spirit that has led to their success, despite today’s unpredictable economy, is the very spirit that will continue to lead this nation to a brighter economic future.” 

Dickson singles out Simpson, who won the award amid multiple nominations covering 40 counties and 600,000 businesses, as a true counselor for business professionals in need of guidance about issues such as human resources, legalities and finance. He says that most of the people she deals with are involved with start-ups, and that success for these entrepreneurs is vital during a time of recession.

“Most small businesses have few specialists they can go to, and Donna does a real yeoman’s job in helping them,” says Dickson.

He also points out that Benco, which began its life as a very small business operating out of Benjamin Cohen’s suitcase, has evolved into such a large operation. The company actually received an SBA disaster loan after the Hurricane Agnes flood in 1972 devastated its headquarters with more than eight feet of water.

Dickson describes the Cohens’ as true entrepreneurs. “They have uncovered a needed market, and, like good business owners, they exploited it better than anyone else,” says Dickson.

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