DURHAM, N.H. - New Hampshire Small Business Development Center (N.H. SBDC) State Director Mary Collins announced that Stewart Gates, business advisor for the center's North Country office, has been selected as the 2011 New Hampshire State Star.

"I am delighted to make this announcement, and to recognize Stewart Gates for extraordinary contributions to the work of the N.H. SBDC and small business in northern New Hampshire," Collins said. "We are grateful to the Neil and Louise Tillotson Foundation, Northern Community Investment Corporation and other partners for their support of SBDC business assistance in the North Country."

Gates was chosen by the N.H. SBDC for being an outstanding performer, making a major contribution to the state's SBDC program, and showing a strong commitment to small business in New Hampshire's North Country.

"It is an honor to accept this award and to have the opportunity every day to assist so many entrepreneurs achieve the dream of starting and succeeding in their own business," Gates said.

A special awards reception honoring the Association of Small Business Development Center 2011 State Stars was held Friday, Sept. 6, 2011, in San Diego, Calif.

The NH Small Business Development Center provides confidential, long-term, business management advising and educational programs to New Hampshire businesses. Services are delivered by full-time certified business advisors with MBAs, CPAs and all have owned their own businesses. N.H. SBDC is a cooperative venture of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the State of New Hampshire, the University of New Hampshire, and the private sector. For more information visit www.nhsbdc.org.

America's Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration's largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. With about 1,000 centers across the nation, America's SBDC network provided business consulting to approximately 200,000 clients, training for more than 400,000 attendees, and other forms of management and technical assistance to approximately 600,000 small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs last year. Learn more at www.asbdc-us.org.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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