Rogue Community College Small Business Development Center Director Ron Goss was announced this week as the recipient of the 2020 Cutler Award from the Oregon SBDC Network. The award is among the highest honors an SBDC director can receive for services to Oregon businesses and the Oregon SBDC network.
“I doubt that there are many businesses in Oregon that haven’t in some way benefited from the work Ron has done at the Rogue SBDC. He is innovative and thoughtful, always looking for new ways to serve area businesses better,” said Mark Gregory, state director of the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network. “He has also been instrumental in helping other Centers throughout Oregon with initiatives that have ultimately led to better programs and services statewide. We are all grateful for his dedication to Oregon businesses.”
The Cutler award is reserved for individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership, dedication, and entrepreneurship to benefit small business in Oregon. Named after Sandy Cutler, the founder of the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network, the award is given annually to exceptional individuals within the Network. With 19 Centers and more than 200 advisors, directors and support staff, the Oregon SBDC Network is the largest provider of small business assistance in Oregon.
Goss has been with the Rogue SBDC for more than a decade. Ron was initially hired in 2009 to coordinate the Small Business Management program for the RCC SBDC, before becoming director in 2013. Prior to joining the team at the Rogue SBDC, Goss worked for a number of coal mining / energy companies across the United States, before returning to Grants Pass in 2002. He has a background in management of engineering / financial systems and information technology, with more than two decades of corporate IT experience.
“Our family moved back to the area because of family ties and wanting to come home and give back to the community where my wife Margy and I grew up,” Goss said. “In my heart, I will always be first and foremost a Grants Pass Caveman.”
RCC President Cathy Kemper-Pelle noted, “RCC is exceptionally grateful to Ron Goss for his years of service to our region and for his outstanding leadership. The RCC SBDC has a long history of ranking as one of the top performing SBDCs in the state, supporting the development and growth of small businesses in our region. His influence here and throughout Oregon is most commendable.”
SBDC FACTS DURING COVID-19
Thus far in 2020 the RCC SBDC has served 510 clients (the average number of clients served in a normal year is 450).
For the 510 total clients served this year, Ron Goss’s team has assisted 217 with specific COVID-19 or other disaster-related services and support. The majority of that assistance was to help clients secure disaster related grants and loans from either the Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and/or the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) grants and loans.
RCC SBDC was also the primary support center for client grant application assistance for the $100,000 Josephine County – Small Business grant program. This was in partnership with the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization (IVCDO).
In total, SBDC assistance enabled over 200 small businesses in the area to receive more than $4.6 million in direct grants and / or loans for disaster-related assistance.
This was all accomplished with the entire staff working from home.