Jack Espelage Past Chapter Chair, Mary Jane Good Present Chapter Chair , Hector Barreto SBA Director

Greater Cincinnati SCORE Wins National SCORE Chapter of the Year Award

Cincinnati, OH-SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" honors Greater Cincinnati SCORE as the National SCORE Chapter of the Year. Greater Cincinnati SCORE earned this award for exceptional growth in the services provided to local entrepreneurs, and the success of its public outreach.

Chapter Chair Mary Jane Good, Past Chapter Chair Jack Espelage and Greater Cincinnati SCORE were honored by SCORE and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) during Small Business Week 2006 in Washington, D.C.

Greater Cincinnati SCORE provided 3,414 services through counseling and workshops last year-an increase of 25 percent from the year before, and a record year for the chapter. The Speaker's Bureau gave many presentations before local clubs, chambers of commerce, service organizations, minority groups and public forums.

Notable success stories include:

" Susan Ingram, owner of Johnny Walker Stables, LLC, received cash flow and financial management advice from SCORE Counselor Jack Espelage.
" Diane Kaltenbach and Stephanie Laybourne, owners of Stephanie's Seasoning Blends, were given marketing ideas, pricing tips and distribution strategies from SCORE Counselors Kent Blackwell and John Zuske.
" Kyra Raimey, who started her own law office, worked with SCORE Counselor Brien Hope on writing a business plan, obtaining a loan and developing marketing strategies.
" Rebecca Pace, owner of Pace Advisors, LLC, a financial consulting business, received valuable start-up and marketing advice from SCORE Counselors Mary Jane Good and Jim Hensley.
" Paul Redwine, owner of Redwine Home Services, LLC, a lawn and pest control business, worked with SCORE Counselor John Zuske on his business plan and financial management.

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey says, "Greater Cincinnati SCORE offers a strong commitment to helping entrepreneurs live their dreams of business success." Yancey adds, "The chapter's 80 volunteer counselors donated nearly 9,000 hours of their time last year to support the local community."

Greater Cincinnati SCORE credits local SBA Branch Manager Ronald Carlson for supporting the chapter. Many people who visit the SBA's office request SCORE advice. "In every instance, the SCORE counselors have been more than willing to help, and in most cases, did more than was asked or even expected," Carlson says. "We can always count on SCORE to help us out, no matter what the situation."

The SCORE Chapter of the Year Award recognizes chapters whose expert counselors have exceeded high standards for counseling small business clients. This includes expanding counseling services and programs that benefit local small businesses.

Other finalists for National SCORE Chapter of the Year included: Orange County SCORE, first runner-up; Northern Nevada SCORE, second runner-up; Springfield SCORE; Atlanta SCORE; Houston SCORE; Akron SCORE; and South Bend SCORE. Last year's winner was Orlando SCORE.

Since 1964, SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" has assisted more than 7 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners through counseling and business workshops. More than 10,500 volunteer business counselors in 389 chapters serve their communities through entrepreneur education dedicated to the formation, growth and success of small businesses.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 513-684-2812 and/or www.scorechapter34.org

Greater Cincinnati, OH Chapter Chair: Mary Jane Good

Mary Jane Good is Chair of Greater Cincinnati SCORE. She is the first woman to hold this office in the chapter's 42 year history. Previously, she held the office of Vice Chair for two years.

Mary Jane retired as Regional Vice President of Spherion, a national human resource company, in 2000. In her 24 years of service, Mary Jane worked on both the corporate side of opening new offices and as Regional Manager of the Chicago area. She spent 20 years in the Franchise Division. She was one of the initial managers to open this division and developed and implemented several firsts to support the Franchise Program: the mentoring program; the payback program; and the major market growth program. Mary Jane also conducted national discrimination audits for the company and was involved in many task forces with the company; among them, the writing of the Franchise Manual and Franchise District Managers Manual. Her recognitions included "Outstanding Sales and Profit-Presidents Club," 12 years; Regional Manager of the Year; Profit Center Manager of the Year; National Leaders Panel; and "Most Valuable Contributor, Franchise Division."

Mary Jane continues to serve on varous nonprofit boards as president and/or board member. She helped in establishing a Well Baby Clinic in Bolingbrook, Ill., and worked to establish a new library in Strongsville, Ohio. She led a General Federation of Women's Club affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, to State Conference, winning 26 awards for Community Contributions. When President of Strongsville, Ohio, Womens Club, the organization won third place out of 10,870 participants in the Nation for the Outstanding Community Service Award.

Greater Cincinnati, OH Past Chapter Chair: Jack Espelage

Jack Espelage grew up in Cincinnati. He has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Wayne State University, and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati.

Jack worked as a process engineer for Parke Davis in Detroit, which became part of Pfizer. After a short time with Monsanto, he worked for Maumee Chemical Co. in Cincinnati which was absorbed by Sherwin Williams Co. During his 16 years (1967-1983) with Sherwin Williams, he held nine different positions including VP–Logistics, VP–Manufacturing, and VP–Dutch Boy.

From 1983 to 1995, Jack was President and COO of Ameritone Paint Corporation based in Long Beach, California which was owned by Grow Group and then ICI-Glidden. He was VP of Store Operations for privately-owned Duron Paint’s 250-store chain based in Maryland from 1996 through 1999. Jack then retired and returned to Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky.

For more than six years, he has taught in the Northern Kentucky University business school and has been "acting" COO for a local dental products company.

Jack joined Greater Cincinnati SCORE in 2002. He was Vice Chair in FY03 and Chapter Chair for FY04 and FY05. He is currently focusing on increasing SCORE counseling services in Northern Kentucky.

Besides spending half of their lives in Greater Cincinnati, Jack and his wife, Donna, have lived on the North Coast (Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland), the West Coast (LA), and the East Coast (Baltimore/Washington). They currently reside in Northern Kentucky and have two daughters, two son-in-laws, and 6 grandchildren. In his spare time, Jack is a golf addict, hitting the links more than 100 times per year and also is an amateur writer.