US Small Business Administration (SBA) South Central Regional Administrator Ted James visited DeSoto City Hall on Tuesday, August 1, to sign a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) with DeSoto Mayor Rachel L. Proctor and the City of DeSoto. James, who was appointed by President Biden as the SBA’s Region VI Administrator in December 2021, noted that the agreement was the first Strategic Alliance Memorandum that he has signed with any Texas City since he took office in December 2021.
The purpose of this Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) is to develop and foster mutual understanding and a working relationship between the SBA and the Office of DeSoto Mayor Rachel Proctor in order to strengthen and expand small business development in the local area.
Proctor applauded the agreement and declared “This agreement will provide structure to our efforts to provide the most pertinent, up-to-date information and guidance possible for DeSoto’s small businesses and encourage budding entrepreneurs to step up and create new small businesses. We are excited because of what it will do for DeSoto’s small businesses today and in the future.”
DeSoto is working on creating a new webpage that will act as a clearing house for new SBA information. It will include direct links to the SBA’s website so that local businesses can directly access the SBA’s most up-to-date information. DeSoto has also pledged to work with the SBA to ensure that small businesses are directed to the right people locally or within the SBA network so that they can receive the best guidance possible.
Tuesday’s signing ceremony marked the third time that Regional Administrator James had visited DeSoto in the past year. At the end of the ceremony, James was asked what his presence there meant about the economic importance and growth in the Southern portion of the DFW Metroplex, James responded “I think that people say your presence shows where your priorities are, so my presence here for the third time shows that there is an energy. There is a strong ecosystem here. And, again, there is leadership here. I’m a former elected official so when I see that type of creative leadership. When I see the type of ingenuity that you have in your Mayor, I want to show up and I want to be a part of it. I am smart enough to know that we don’t have to go and try to create something that’s already organically built. So you all have that here, hence our presence.”
To view Tuesday’s ceremony and press briefing visit DeSoto’s Facebook Page at https://fb.watch/m9jMc2DeIx/
For more information about the US Small Business Administration and the services that it provides, visit their website at www.sba.gov
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