On Wednesday, June 15, the Depoe Bay Community Hall was filled to capacity to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2015-2016 class of Oregon Coast Community College’s Small Business Management program. All told, 26 businesses graduated from the program this year, from two separate cohorts in Lincoln City and Newport. The class of entrepreneurs included a range of business types, including paving contractors, artists, restaurants, retail shops, manufacturers, massage therapists and financial advisors, among others. State Rep. David Gomberg (D- District 10) presented the keynote address at the graduation celebration, which was catered by SBM graduate Karen Richards and The Eventuary.
Tyler Turner wins SBM honor
At the event, the 2016 SBM Business of the Year award was presented to Tyler Turner, Captain and co-owner of the Tacklebuster Sport Fishing out of Depoe Bay. Turner was featured in a May 2014 article in The Oregonian, which told of his being partially paralyzed in a 2008 motorcycle accident but persevering in the years following and eventually earning his Coast Guard license. The same dogged determination that resulted in that improbable achievement manifested itself in his work throughout the SBM program.
“He created a website, he wrote a business plan, created and executed a successful social media presence, and – perhaps most important – he’s expanded his business. He has accomplished everything he’d set out to do at the beginning of the program last September,” said Misty Lambrecht, coordinator of the SBM program and a longtime advisor and social media marketing instructor at the SBDC. “Further, Tyler volunteers to serve on the Pacific Fishery Groundfish Advisory Council. As in so much of what he’s accomplished, it’s not about him – it’s about his community, and his fishing community.”
“I came to small business management program at OCCC at a desperate time seeking professional business counseling and I came away with so much more,” Turner said. “I made lifelong friendships. One the greatest accents to the program is the insight to the coastal business dynamic. Monthly one-on-one counseling sessions provided excellent feedback and resources which paved an avenue for success. The greatest selling point for this program is the structure of the curriculum and experience of the teachers and advisors, the convenience and access to local and statewide business professionals, and the small class sizes for great interpersonal communication.”
OCCC’s lead business advisor, Craig Grant, says he’s been impressed by Turner from the start and spoke about him during the SBM graduation ceremony.
Information and photo provided by SBMC at Oregon Coast Community College
