It has been a very busy year for new and existing businesses in Carbon County and for the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development in the rebuilding and rebranding of our organization.

I'm sure you have seen the various newspaper articles and television spots on Channel 13 throughout the year highlighting what we are doing.What you may not know is that Carbon Chamber and Economic Development partners with many entities in the region to help start or build a business.The Small Business Development Center at Wilkes University is one of those partners.The SBDC has been invaluable to the promotion and education of small businesses in the County.From Jan. 1 to Nov. 11, Dorothy Lane of the SBDC met with 36 clients and delivered over 231 consulting hours.Four business starts were recorded, eight jobs were created and 11 jobs were saved. All were accomplished offering free services just one day per month here at the CCEDC office.The partnership also allowed CCEDC to finance a brand new transportation company based in Lansford.Speaking of Lansford, in July of this year, we were excited to help Lansford Alive! secure a matching grant from the Lehigh Valley Main Street Foundation.In addition, 2014 was the inaugural year for the Build Your American Dream Challenge and our first ever "Guppy Tank."We began with 11 participants and finished with a great new business which qualified to swim with the Guppies.We will be running the program again next year under a revised format to give even more entrepreneurs and existing business owners a chance to jump into the tank.CCEDC is proud to offer low interest micro loans.All approvals and administration of the loans are through our office in Lehighton and help to support and grow our local businesses.We are also pleased to work with the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance on larger loan programs including SBA 504 and the Rural Development Loan Program.CCEDC has renewed our certification with the Department of Community and Economic Development to administrate and be the conduit for PEDFA bonds.In addition, we are in the process of renewing our certification to offer Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loans, through the DCED.This certification enables us to approve and administrate loans from the state in our county.So what does the future hold for economic development at the CCEDC? We are pleased to report that we are forming a Carbon County Manufacturers Advisory Board in partnership with the Manufacturer's Resource Center. Our goal is to create an organization for local manufacturers that will assist in providing training programs and updates and advocacy for members' respective industries.We are also looking to partner with local municipalities to help revitalize their downtowns.A special thanks to the many volunteers that assist the CCEDC throughout the year by serving on various committees. We are grateful for their contributions and hours of service. Most importantly, we thank the county commissioners for their collaborative efforts and support to help strengthen our local business community thereby helping provide a brighter future for us all.The Carbon Chamber and Economic Development column appears weekly on our business page.