ADVOCATEVolume 20, Number 2 March/April 2006

Five Finalists are Impassioned Advocates2006 Small Business Advocate of the Year to be honored in May

Inside the AdvocateSmall-Business Power (p. 4).Tax Gap Analysis (p. 6).Great Lakes Champions (p. 8).

Advocacy always has been NSBA’sprimary motivation. The organiza-tion’s Washington Presentation—

which includes an opportunity for par-ticipants to meet with their elected rep-resentatives as well as the presentationof the 2006 Small Business Advocateof the Year—exemplifies that concept.

The 2006 event will be held May10-11 at the Wyndham Washington,located at 1400 M Street NW inWashington, D.C. It begins with theaward luncheon and is followed by aWhite House briefing and reception.The annual Congressional Breakfastand meetings with representativesand senators will be held May 11.

Look for more information aboutthe event, and your chance to regis-ter, at nsba.biz.

“Small-business advocacy hasremained the driving force behind ourorganization,” NSBA President ToddMcCracken said. “We always havebeen mindful that the best advocatefor small business is not an associa-tion, a lobbyist, or a ‘spokesperson.’The real advocates are the small-busi-ness owners themselves, who giveevery day to make their businesses,their employees, their communities,and their nation a better place. Wehave dedicated this award to thesesmall-business advocates.”

The finalists for this year’s awardare quite impressive. They arePittsburgh’s Marilyn Landis,Phoenix’s Sharon Maloley, John

care so deeply about our democraticprocess and our small-business eco-nomic energy, I am compelled tospeak out. I take the time to be anadvocate because I cannot stand bywhen small business needs a voice.”

Landis currently serves asNSBA’s treasurer and is the vicechair-elect/secretary for SMCBusiness Councils in Pittsburgh.Additionally, Landis has been a finalist for the SBA Small BusinessAdvocate of the Year award and hastestified before Congress numeroustimes.

Maloley founded A.R. Systems,Inc., a debt recovery and accounts-receivable management firm, in April1991. The company is the only col-lection agency in Arizona and one of19 in the world to achieve the desig-nation of an American CollectorsAssociation International CertifiedCollection Agency.

“It is important for small business-es to stand up and be counted as they

continued on p. 3

By Rob YunichDirector of Communications

Meyers of Upper Marlboro, Md.,Joanne Randolph of Huntsville, Ala.,and Cleveland’s Robert Schmidt.

All of the finalists devote muchof their time to small-business advo-cacy in addition to owning successfulbusinesses.

Landis founded Basic BusinessConcepts, Inc. in 2001. The compa-ny provides support to keep business-es financially-balanced, on-track, andgrowing. These include chief finan-cial officer-level services to smallbusinesses and business brokerageservices. During her distinguishedmore-than-30-year career, Landis hassecured financing for income proper-ties, construction projects, manufac-turers, restaurants, and hotels han-dling loan amounts ranging frommicro-loans to $22 million fundings.

“I feel it is important for us toeducate our legislators on the con-cerns, and solutions, that we see assmall-business owners,” Landis said.“Small business is truly the enginethat drives this economy. Because I

NSBA FILE PHOTO

The 2005 Small Business Advocate of the Year, Valerie Perlowitz, accepts her award fromthen-NSBA Chair Malcolm Outlaw during last year’s Washington Presentation.

ChairPaul Hense

First Vice ChairGrafton “Cap” Willey

SecretaryScott Hauge

TreasurerMarilyn Landis

Immediate Past ChairMalcolm Outlaw

PresidentTodd McCracken

EditorRob Yunich

WritersMolly BroganDavid Mack

Jody Milanese

PrintingDigiLink, Inc.

HOW TO REACH US

National Small Business Association1156 15th Street NW Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20005Phone: 202-293-8830

Fax: 202-872-8543Internet: nsba.biz

The NSBA Advocate, published bimonthly by the National Small

Business Association, is one of thebenefits of an NSBA membership.Notification of address changesshould be sent to NSBA, 115615th Street NW, Suite 1100,

Washington, DC 20005.

MISSION STATEMENTNSBA is a volunteer-led associa-tion. Our primary mission is toadvocate state and federal policiesthat are beneficial to small busi-ness, the state, and the nation —and promote the growth of freeenterprise.

ADVOCATEMarch/April 2006

Volume 20, Number 2

©© 22000066 NNaattiioonnaall SSmmaallll BBuussiinneessss AAssssoocciiaattiioonn

2 March/April 2006

In This Issue

SMALL-BUSINESS POWER

NSBA Chair Paul Hense delves into the dictionary to define an advocate, andapplies it to NSBA’s continued fight on behalf of small businesses.

RECOVERING FROM THE STORMS

NSBA teamed with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry tohelp small-business owners get back on their feet.

GREAT LAKES CHAMPIONS

The Small Business Association of Michigan advocates for small-businessissues in a state where the economy is driven by the automobile industry.

MORE NSBA NEWS

6 Budget tax gap proposals fall flat… 7 What’s new for 2006?… 10 NSBA At Work… 11 Your NSBA calendar… and more.

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4

7

8

6

NSBA FILE PHOTO

PHOTO BY ROB YUNICH

March/April 2006 3

Five Finalists are Impassioned Advocates (continued from p. 1)

are vital to the lifeline of our econo-my,” Maloley said. “It is my desire tohelp small businesses realize that theirdream can become a reality.”

Maloley spends much time men-toring small-business owners, guidingthem in the process of creating andmanaging their business and incor-porating themselves into the econo-my. She currently serves on the boardof the Arizona Small BusinessAssociation, the Better BusinessBureau of Northern Arizona as wellas the steering committees of CampCEO and Camp Capital Hill.

Meyers founded NativeAmerican Industrial Distributors,Inc., in August 1983. The companyprovides professional, administrative,management and technical supportservices. The company beganexpanding in 1997, when Meyerstook what was then a small consult-ing firm into the government market-place. Since then, NAID has grownto more than 60 employees and near-ly $10 million in annual revenue.

“It’s important to give somethingback,” Meyers said. “It’s very diffi-cult to become a successful small-business owner and I want to helpothers thrive in a difficult environ-ment. All this stuff takes a long timeto learn, even after you think you’velearned it all.”

A Santa Rosa Cahuilla Indian,Meyers serves on the board of theNational Indian BusinessAssociation, which fosters social andeconomic growth by creating a betterquality of life for tribal communities.Meyers also speaks frequently andleads panel discussions and mentorsother small-business owners.

Randolph founded eLabVentures, Inc.—a company dedicatedto the education, growth, and pros-perity of entrepreneurs and the busi-nesses they serve—in 2004.

“I’m fortunate to be at a point inmy life and career where I have theopportunity to spend more time onsmall-business advocacy and helpingothers achieve their dreams,”

Randolph said. “In fact, my businessmodel at eLab Ventures is not tobuild a big company, but rather, to bea conduit in helping others build bigcompanies.”

Randolph serves as a boardmember for the Business Council ofAlabama as well as chairing its smallbusiness committee. Additionally,Randolph is the former president andchief executive officer of BizTech,Huntsville’s small business incubatorthat she helped launch in 1997.

Schmidt founded ClevelandMedical Devices Inc. and OrbitalResearch Inc. in 1990. The companieshave experienced much success, bothbeing named to the Inc. 500 list andnortheast Ohio’s Weatherhead 100 list.CleveMed has developed a growingrange of products that address theneeds of the medical, research andacademic communities. The compa-ny’s rehabilitation department focuseson portable monitoring and rehabilita-tion technology for pressure sore pre-

vention and movement disorders,such as Parkinson’s disease.

“Providing advocacy for technicaleducation and for small technologybusinesses is critical for the survivaland growth of our nation and of ourbusiness,” Schmidt said. “We need tosupport science and engineering edu-cation at all levels. We need to devel-op new products. And it is small busi-nesses that do that—creating morethan 80 percent of new jobs.”

In 2002, he worked with Sens.Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) andGeorge Voinovich (R-Ohio) to helpsmall businesses save $10,000 intaxes for those that were purchasingnew capital equipment.

Let us know who you thinkshould be the Small BusinessAdvocate of the Year. Please visitcnnmoney.com/nsba to vote. (Note:the voting will not have an impact onthe final winner and is being con-ducted for informational purposesonly.)

NSBA FILE PHOTO

LEFT: NSBA President Todd McCracken recently spoke at a Health Care Forum sponsoredby the Business Council of Alabama. Pictured with him is Joanne Randolph of Huntsville,Ala., one of the finalists for the 2006 Small Business Advocate of the Year Award.RIGHT: NSBA Treasurer Marilyn Landis, another award finalist, spoke on behalf on NSBAat a press conference last year at the United States Capitol.

COURTESY BUSINESS COUNCIL OF ALABAMA

Interested in exporting? Find plenty of information, resources,links, updates, membership information, and much more from the

Small Business Exporters Association. Act now and visit:

sbea.org

4 March/April 2006

Chair’s MessageSmall-Business PowerBy Paul HenseNSBA Chair

your concerns to both parties.Our goal is not political power. It

is small-business power.NSBA strives to help you achieve

individual financial freedom. At theend of the Civil War, it was said thata family needed 40 acres and a muleto be financially secure. GeorgeWashington pleaded with Congressto offer young men 100 acres of farmland as an incentive to enlist in thecontinental army.

The American Dream was—andremains—to attain the tools of self-sufficiency. The American Dreamtoday for people of talent and ambi-tion is still that a family can prosperin their own enterprise. Congress,through well-intentioned but some-

times wrong-headed policies, hasbuilt barriers to that endeavor.

Through the Mercer and IRSstudies, NSBA delved into an analy-sis of those barriers and is enthusias-tically pursuing Congress to correcttheir well-intended, but damaging,policies.

The key to our success is you,our members. If you believe thatworking hard, providing service andbeing in control of your destiny is agood thing, then you should beencouraging everyone you meet tojoin us.

And if you want to make a dif-ference yourself—and meet othersmall-business owners faced withsimilar struggles—attend ourWashington Presentation.

This year’s edition will be heldWednesday, May 10 and Thursday,May 11 at the WyndhamWashington, located at 1400 MStreet NW in our nation’s capital.

Once again, the event willinclude myriad speakers, the chanceto meet with your congressional rep-resentatives, the presentation of theSmall Business Advocate of the YearAward, and much more.

Attend the event and get theinside scoop straight from the sourceabout issues imperative to small-busi-ness owners. There’s no event like it!

For more information and to register, visit nsba.biz today.

NSBA FILE PHOTO

NSBA is an advocate for smallbusinesses. The dictionarydefines an advocate as a person

who fights for a cause or propoundsan idea. Being that NSBA is an advo-cacy organization, I wanted to dis-cuss the cause(s) we fight for and theidea(s) we propound.

What we are fighting for is gov-ernment support of the small-busi-ness owner’s quest to create jobs andachieve financial independence. It isnot so much that we want somethingfrom the government; we do, howev-er, want to make sure that the lawsare favorable to small businesses.

Government, at all levels,espouses their love of small-businessowners as the engine that drives theeconomy. The problem is that theiraudio message is not in sync withtheir voting records.

NSBA is the thinking-personsadvocate. Some small business advo-cacy organizations are a front for aninsurance agency or an advocacygroup tied to a political party. NSBAis a true, non-partisan advocate con-cerned about your well-being. Ouradvocacy efforts focus only on whatis best for you, the small-businessowner, and do not stem from ulteriormotives.

Evidence of this concept lies inthe Mercer report on health care andNSBA’s study titled “The InternalRevenue Code: Unequal TreatmentBetween Large and Small Firms.”Both studies—which can be foundon our Web site, nsba.biz—serve asevidence of how small businesses aresometimes mistreated by the govern-ment. However, NSBA is here tohelp right the wrongs.

NSBA can use this kind of valuableinformation on a non-partisan basis toinfluence all members of Congress, onyour behalf, to create a better environ-ment for entrepreneurship. We take

Top 10 Features of NSBA.biz

1. Read NSBA news as it happens.2. Take action!

3. Read all of NSBA’s issue briefs.4. Stay updated on the organization’s press releases.

5. See when NSBA appears in newspapers and on television and the radio.6. Sign up for our eNewsletter or join our e-mail list.

7. Find out about all of the benefits available to NSBA members.8. Read about NSBA’s storied history.

9. Take advantage of the many resources on the Web site.10. Join NSBA, if you have not already.

March/April 2006 5

6 March/April 2006

Budget Tax Gap Proposals Fall FlatNSBA examines Treasury Department plans that will hurt small businesses

Congress held multiple hearings in2005 on an Internal RevenueService study that found the fed-

eral government was failing to collectapproximately $350 billion in tax rev-enue it was owed by the Americanpeople.

Over the span of hearings, self-employed individuals were blamedby the IRS as the largest contributorsto the tax gap. Various ill-formedideas, including mandatory with-holding on independent contractors,were proposed to close the gap.

With the introduction ofPresident George W. Bush’s fiscalyear 2007 budget, more bad ideas onclosing the tax gap have arrived.Buried in a Blue Book explanation bythe United States TreasuryDepartment analyzing the FY 2007budget proposals are two itemsaimed at closing the tax gap.

The first proposal seeks toincrease third-party reporting ofgross income by requiring paymentcard issuers to report to the IRSannually on the aggregate reimburse-ment payments made to merchantsin a calendar year. Yes, that’s right;the Treasury Department wants toknow all the credit card paymentssmall-business owners have takenfrom customers.

Additionally, if a small-businessowner has failed to provide cardissuers with a Taxpayer IdentificationNumber (TIN), or provided an incor-rect number, the Treasury Departmentwants the card issuers to send 28 per-cent of the business’ cash directly tothe IRS through back-up withholding.

vent further losses to the governmentfrom business owners who historical-ly failed to pay payroll taxes and con-tinue the practice while disputing theIRS judgment in a collection due-process hearing.

Essentially, the TreasuryDepartment wants business owners topre-pay tax penalties and then disputethe case if they feel wronged. There isno excuse for failing to pay payrolltaxes and those that do so purposelyshould be prosecuted and made to pay.

However, in some cases, the IRSis wrong in assessing penalties or thebusiness owner themselves have beenwronged in some way. In these situa-tions, pre-paying back taxes andpenalties could be a death sentenceto otherwise healthy enterprises.

Neither of these proposals is anacceptable way to close the tax gap.

The best way, in NSBA’s eyes, toimprove compliance would be throughsubstantial simplification of the taxcode that maximizes ease of compli-ance and transparency.

Aside from the natural distastefor “Big Brother”-type disclosure ofall transactions, this proposal isflawed from a fairness point of view.While it is too early to gauge howmuch this proposal would cost cardissuers to comply with, it is certainthat those costs would be directlypassed on to merchants and ultimate-ly to customers.

Also, requiring 28 percent with-holding on gross revenues to a busi-ness that provided an incorrect TINis unfair to business owners whohave not taken ordinary businessdeductions and card issuers whohave to deal with the increased regu-latory burden.

The other poorly-conceived rev-enue raiser offered by the TreasuryDepartment is a proposal to requireemployers who are accused of delin-quent Federal Employment Taxes tosubmit to “collection remedies” (i.e.tax levies) before they can appealtheir case through a collection due-process hearing. The idea is to pre-

PHOTO BY ROB YUNICH

Kevin Brown (center, pictured with NSBA Chair Paul Hense and First Vice Chair CapWilley), the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service’s small business/self-employed division, spoke to the NSBA board in February about the tax gap.

By David MackGovernment Affairs Director

Have you visited our site recently? A lot has changed! There’s a new design, more information, an updated member survey, and much more.

nsba.biz

March/April 2006 7

Recovering From the Storms

Even several months after theyhappened, Hurricanes Katrinaand Rita remain on the minds of

small-business owners around thecountry.

NSBA teamed with SmallBusiness California, the LouisianaAssociation for Business andIndustry, and the Baton Rouge AreaFoundation to raise funds for small-business disaster victims. Thesefunds will go directly to Gulf Coastsmall businesses and help them getback on their feet.

NSBA also fought for small busi-nesses that were excluded in aHouse-passed disaster relief bill,which declined to award recovery aidto some legitimate, legal small busi-nesses. NSBA believes that all legiti-mate, legal small businesses shouldbenefit from small-business expens-ing and other aid offered to them.NSBA will continue to pay closeattention to this matter.

Additionally, the United StatesSmall Business Administration (SBA)will be focusing on disaster relief dur-

ing its 2006 Small Business Week.The two-day event will focus on

small-business accomplishments andsmall businesses that still are recover-ing from last year’s hurricanes.

SBA also will present four majorawards to small-business owners.

The event begins Wednesday,April 12 with a procurement awardsluncheon at the U.S. Chamber ofCommerce, which is followed by anevening reception at the U.S.Department of State. The followingday’s agenda includes a breakfastfocusing on disaster recovery and aluncheon featuring the presentationof awards.

More information about theevent can be found at sba.gov/sbw.

What’s New for 2006?By NSBA Staff

This year, there are several changes that were enacted that small-business owners should know about. Here is a briefsummary:

Employer-sponsored 401(k) plans experienced their final increase under President George W. Bush’s EconomicGrowth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Participants now can contribute up to $15,000 on a pre-tax basis withan annual adjustment for inflation granted in $500 increments. Unfortunately, the gap between traditional 401(k) plansand small-business friendly SIMPLE 401(k) plans increased in 2006, as the latter plans were left in the dust with $10,000maximum pre-tax contributions.

Business owners looking to make capital investments in their business will benefit from increased Section 179expensing limits. In 2006, qualifying businesses will be able to immediately expense up to $108,000 in equipment—anincrease from $105,000. (Bush has proposed further increases as part of the FY 2007 budget.)

Families and individuals taking advantage of Health Savings Accounts to deal with sky-high health insurance costsexperienced slight bumps in the maximum amounts they can set aside for high-deductible health plans in 2006.Individuals are allowed a maximum of $2,700 and families are allowed $5,450—increases of $50 and $200, respectively.

The phase-out of the Estate Tax through 2010 continues. For 2006, the exemption is raised to $2 million and themaximum rate on exposed assets is lowered to 46 percent.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s size standards were adjusted for inflation and are in effect forany federal procurement solicitations issued on or after Jan. 5, 2006. The adjustment increased monetary-based size stan-dards by 8.7 percent to account for inflation that occurred since SBA’s last inflation adjustment in 2002. A copy of the ruleis available on SBA’s Web site, sba.gov.

More information can be found on the NSBA Web site, nsba.biz.

By Rob YunichDirector of Communications

COURTESY LABI

DIRECTLY ABOVE: NSBA partnered withthe Louisiana Association of Business andIndustry to raise funds for small-businessowners affected by Hurricanes Katrina andRita. As a show of gratitude, LABI featuredNSBA in the January edition of its maga-zine, the Enterprise.

ABOVE RIGHT: NSBA Secretary ScottHauge of San Francisco helped connectNSBA and LABI for the fundraising effort.Hauge also helped raise funds throughSmall Business California, a small-businessadvocacy group he founded. The twoorganizations continue to help small-busi-ness owners affected by the hurricanes.

NSBA FILE PHOTO

8 March/April 2006

Great Lakes ChampionsSBAM advocates for small businesses in Michigan and across the U.S.

By Rob YunichDirector of Communications

The auto industry dominates theMichigan economy. Ford, GeneralMotors and DaimlerChrysler usu-

ally dictate business in the Great LakesState. Fortunately, the Small BusinessAssociation of Michigan (SBAM)—anNSBA affiliate—advocates on behalfof business owners who, individually,do not have the same clout as the BigThree American automakers.

In recent years, the downturn inthe auto industry—coupled with taxpolicies designed for an era of indus-trial prosperity—have led toMichigan suffering from the nation’sworst business climate and near-worst unemployment rate.

SBAM has been successful in get-ting many public officials to recog-nize that Michigan’s future prosperitydepends on creating opportunities forsmall businesses—which are respon-sible for most of the recent employ-ment growth in the state.

“It only makes sense to nurturethe entrepreneurs who will developthe businesses of tomorrow that willagain lead Michigan to prosperity,”SBAM President and CEO RobFowler said.

SBAM (via its Small BusinessFoundation) has fortified its stature asthe leader of Michigan small busi-nesses by issuing a comprehensiveMichigan Entrepreneurial Score Card forthe second consecutive year. TheScore Card has substantially raised theawareness among the media and law-makers of the importance of creatinga tax and regulatory climate thatencourages entrepreneurial risk takingand business formation.

Additionally, SBAM continues towork closely with lawmakers on bothsides of the aisle to implement funda-mental tax reform. SBAM joinsNSBA in support of the Fair Tax, andremains at the forefront in calling for

Businessman’s Association) in 1969after two years of hard work.

Since that time, the organiza-tion’s name has changed, its mem-bership expanded from a base inwestern Michigan to a strongstatewide presence, and its headquar-ters moved from Kalamazoo, Mich.,to its current home in Lansing. Butone thing remained—SBAM’s com-mitment to serving its members andthe state’s small-business community.

Today, SBAM is one of the fewbusiness organizations in Michiganthat boasts a growing membership.

“That’s a remarkable accom-plishment, considering Michigan issuffering from one of the worst eco-nomic climates in the nation,”Fowler said. “Small businesses arechoosing to be a part of SBAMthanks to our high visibility as thevoice of small business in the halls ofthe legislature, and because we offeran innovative package of member-benefits dubbed the ‘power suite.’”

The “power suite” aims to providesmall-business owners with the samerange of benefits and services that areavailable to the heads of big compa-

repeal of Michigan’s Single BusinessTax (SBT). Largely due to SBAM’sefforts, the SBT is scheduled to expirein 2009—if not sooner. SBAM hopesthe Michigan Fair Tax will replace theSBT, the state income tax and person-al property tax.

SBAM proposes that the lost rev-enue would be replaced by anincrease of the state sales tax fromthe current six percent to eight ornine percent, depending on whichexemptions were included in anyfinal legislative agreement. Much likethe national Fair Tax proposal, thesales tax also would be expanded tocover services, but only at the pointof final sale. Business-to-businesssales transactions would be exempt.

FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE

SBAM’s journey to creation,much like NSBA’s, centered on onecentral issue—the difficulty of run-ning a successful small business andthe need for an organization thatwould represent only small business-es. In Michigan, this realization wasmade by Dick Sanford, who foundedSBAM (then called the Independent

NSBA FILE PHOTO

SBAM members greet Rep. John Linder (third from right), who spoke at NSBA’s 2005Small Business Congress about the federal Fair Tax legislation he proposed.

March/April 2006 9

nies: human resources, financial oper-ations, government relations, market-ing, legal counsel and technology.

SBAM is moving to bring the“power suite” to its members in adynamic and tangible way by doingthe research, vetting the partners andnegotiating on its members’ behalf.Last year, participating members savedan average of $2,000 each by utilizing“power suite” products and services.

MUCH IN COMMON

In addition to sharing similar leg-islative goals, NSBA and SBAM alsoshare other similarities. SBAM has along history of involvement withNSBA, but that involvement deep-ened during the 1986 and 1995White House Conferences on SmallBusiness—when a group of SBAMleaders served as conference dele-gates. Then-SBAM President andCEO Gary Woodbury served as oneof 11 representatives to the WhiteHouse Conference on Small BusinessCommission. Subsequently, hechaired 10 state conferences that pre-ceded the 1995 national event.

SBAM remains especially activewith NSBA on national tax issues,such as the Fair Tax. Three keySBAM members—current NSBAchair Paul Hense and former NSBAchairs Sharon Miller and GaryKushner—lead this effort.

Hense, a certified public account-ant, has testified numerous timesbefore Congress on the negativeimpact the federal tax code has onsmall business formation andgrowth. (A complete biography ofHense is available at nsba.biz/board.)

“SBAM’s close partnership withNSBA gives our members a mega-phone to make their voices betterheard on the national level,” Fowlersaid.

In addition to Hense and Fowler,the SBAM contingent on the NSBAboard includes John ChristopherHolman and Deleski “Dee” Smith.

Fowler, who has served in hiscurrent role since 2003, has been

working for small business for manyyears. Before joining SBAM in 2001,Fowler previously served as presidentand CEO for the Council of SmallerEnterprises, another NSBA affiliate.He is a graduate of Ball StateUniversity with a degree in politicalscience and business administration.

Holman, SBAM’s immediate pastchair, is the owner and publisher ofThe Greater Lansing Business Monthlyand also owns other small businesses.He is the long-time host of theeponymous “The Chris HolmanMorning Show,” a daily program, as

well as “Michigan Business Beat,”and “Business Today with ChrisHolman,” a weekly television pro-gram. After graduating from EasternMichigan University, Holman was ahigh school teacher, coach, athleticdirector and assistant principal beforeserving as director of sales and mar-keting for Laboratory Services, Inc.

Smith, a member of the SBAMboard, started his first business inreal estate, which grew into a con-struction company.

After a few years in business,Smith was recruited to teach atLansing Community College, wherehe served as regional director for theSmall Business Development Centerfor 12 of his 25 years there. Hefounded his current company,Cherdeco LLC, with his wife, Cheri,in 2004. He recently renovated andopened a bed and breakfast,Baughman Manor, in his hometownof Charlotte, Mich.

Smith is the chair of NSBA’s2006 Washington Presentation andserved as co-chair of the 2005 event.

Bill Largent also has served on theboard of both organizations.

For more information aboutSBAM, call 888-GET-SBAM, e-mailsbam@sbam.org, or visit sbam.org.

SBAM Vice President ofCommunications Michael Rogerscontributed to this story.

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Available options include long-term care, disability, and life insurance.

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COURTESY SBAM

SBAM President and CEO Rob Fowler

10 March/April 2006

NSBA At WorkHighlights of NSBA staff activities from the recent past

Every day, NSBA members andstaff work to ensure that small-business owners are represented

on Capitol Hill through meetingsand events. Recently-attended eventsinclude:

Jan. 19, 2006Small Business RoundtableNSBA participated in a round-

table, sponsored by the House SmallBusiness Committee Democrats, todiscuss the upcoming Small BusinessAdministration (SBA) reauthoriza-tion and gain insight from variousstakeholders.

Jan. 24Coalition MeetingNSBA staff attended a Small

Business Equal Access to JusticeCoalition meeting to discuss theEqual Access to Justice Reform Act.

Jan. 25Policy Council Briefing NSBA staff attended a discus-

sion about the state of energy poli-cy—including the effects of the 2005energy bill, key energy issues remain-ing to be decided and the prospectsof legislation to address these issuesduring the year ahead.

Feb. 2NSBA Health Care MeetingsNSBA board members met all

day with Senate offices to discusshealth care legislation and NSBA’shealth care policy.

Feb. 3Energy Star MeetingNSBA staff hosted a meeting with

the Environmental Protection Agency,Department of Energy and SBA todiscuss the Energy Star program andits impact on small businesses.

Feb. 17Senate Budget CommitteeNSBA staff attended a hearing

about President George W. Bush’sproposed FY 2007 budget.

Feb. 20NAWBO Health Care PresentationNSBA staff served as a featured

speaker for a health care session dur-ing the annual National Associationof Women Business Owners policyconference.

Feb. 23SBA Budget BriefingNSBA staff participated in the

annual SBA budget briefing to dis-cuss the administration’s proposedbudget for FY 2007.

March 1Government Reform HearingNSBA President Todd McCracken

testified before the House GovernmentReform Regulatory subcommittee dur-ing a hearing focusing on the use ofplain language in drafting federal regulations.

March 3Business Council of Alabama EventNSBA President Todd McCracken

spoke at the Business Council ofAlabama’s Health Care Forum inBirmingham about NSBA’s oppositionto Association Health Plans.

March 9House Small Business CommitteeStaff participated in a roundtable

on telecommunications policy.

Feb. 7Senate Commerce CommitteeNSBA staff attended a hearing

on Internet Service Providers and“Internet neutrality.”

Feb. 8House Small Business CommitteeNSBA staff attended a hearing

on the State Streamlined Sales Taxinitiative.

Feb. 10Access to Capital MeetingsNSBA met with various House

staff members to discuss the SBA’sfiscal year 2007 budget and status ofsmall business access to capital.

Feb. 10Employer Mandates CoalitionNSBA participated in a coalition

meeting with various elected officialsin Maryland, senior scholars of theHeritage Foundation, and other tradeassociations to discuss the alarmingtrend of employer-mandates onhealth insurance on the state level.

Feb. 14Health Care Reform Bill RoundtableNSBA participated in a round-

table with key staff members of theHealth, Education, Labor andPensions (HELP) Committee,chaired by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), to discuss small-group marketreform proposals regarding S. 1955.

Feb. 14Asbestos MeetingNSBA staff attended a meeting

with Senate Judiciary Committeestaff to discuss the status of theFairness in Asbestos InjuryResolution (FAIR) Act.

DID YOU KNOW?You can join one of NSBA’s councils,SBEA and SBTC, for an additional $50in annual dues.

nsba.bizTHE MOST VALUABLE SMALL-

BUSINESS RESOURCE ON THE WEB

March/April 2006 11

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Council of SmallerEnterprises

Issues Conference IntercontinentalHotel, Cleveland

7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., registeronline (www.cose.org) or call

COSE customer service, 216-592-2222.

Thursday-Friday,

Sept. 7-8

National Small Business

Association

Quarterly BoardMeeting

Grand TraverseResort and Spa,

100 GrandTraverse Village

Boulevard, Acme,Mich.

RSVP to Rosa Wright, 202-293-8830 ext. 207 or

rwright@nsba.biz.

November2006

National Small Business

Association

Quarterly BoardMeeting/Annual

MembershipMeeting

Hilton Head, S.C. RSVP to Rosa Wright, 202-293-8830 ext. 207 or

rwright@nsba.biz.

NSBA Calendar

Do you want to see your events appear on the calendar? Please send the information to Rob Yunich, 202-293-8830 ext. 224, fax to 202-872-8543, or e-mail press@nsba.biz.

NSBA in the NewsThis year, NSBA has increased its exposure in the media—both print and broadcast. Below is a sampling of where theorganization has appeared. A more comprehensive listing can be found on the NSBA Web site, nsba.biz/inthenews.

BizJournals (Feb. 13, 2006)Budget Would Raise Costs forSome SBA Loans

ABC News (Dec. 15, 2005)Peter Jennings Reporting—Breakdown: America’s HealthInsurance Crisis

Biz New Orleans (Oct. 10, 2005)LABI to Begin Sending ReliefChecks This Week

San Diego Magazine (July 27, 2005)Tax Revolt

The Hill (May 25, 2005)The Lobby League

BizJournals (Feb. 18, 2005)Group Seeks Health Care Reform

1156 15th Street NWSuite 1100Washington, DC 20005nsba.biz

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