June/July News from Guard Support of Massachusetts

Guard Support Banner

Guard Support News
June/July 2010 Issue

Entrepreneurs' Funding Program

Senator Brown Joins Guard Support In Backing National Guard Entrepreneurs

In a ceremony at the office of U.S. Senator Scott Brown, Guard Support of Massachusetts presented its first low-interest business loan to a Worcester company founded by a member of the Massachusetts National Guard.

Machado Consulting, an IT services company operated by National Guard member Major Helder Machado, received a $40,000 low-interest loan from Guard Support's Entrepreneurs' Funding Program for an expansion plan that includes hiring a service-disabled Guard veteran.

From left to right: Thomas Kelley, Secretary, Mass. Dept. of Veterans' Services; Michael Finer, Board member, Guard Support of Mass.; Sherry Handel, Executive Director, Guard Support of Mass.; U.S. Senator Scott Brown; Maj. Helder Machado, CEO and President, Machado Consulting; Maj. Gen. Joseph C. Carter, The Adjutant General, Mass. National Guard; and John Kingston, Board member, Guard Support of Mass.

Senator Scott Brown had this to say, "The men and women of the Massachusetts National Guard make great sacrifices to protect and defend our nation, and I congratulate Guard Support of Massachusetts for assisting these brave warriors and their families through programs offering financial support for both the individuals and their small businesses".

Guard Support launched the Entrepreneurs' Funding Program (EFP) to provide business planning education and training, seed and expansion capital, and expert support and advisement to businesses started by members of the Massachusetts National Guard and/or their spouses.

We extend a very special thank you to our founding sponsors; Alder Foods Inc., The AMG Foundation, Ascent Ventures, The IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs' Network, Eastern Bank, Goodwin Procter LLC, Odyssey Systems Consulting Group and several individual donors.

Our EFP Education and Training Partners include; the Center for Women and Enterprise, The IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs' Network, The EntreTech Forum, SCORE, and SBA Mass. Small Business Development Centers.

Guard Support also wishes to thank the Entrepreneurs' Funding Review Team members; Manassah Bradley, Kevin Flavin, Sherry Handel, Andrew Paradise and Victoria Sassine.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently awarded Guard Support's founder, Nate Dalton with the 2010 Massachusetts Veteran Small Business Champion Award in recognition of the ongoing work of the Entrepreneurs' Funding Program.

Danversbank Selects Guard Support as Tournament Beneficiary

Danversbank has chosen Guard Support of Massachusetts as the beneficiary of their annual Charity Golf Classic. The Danversbank Charity Golf Classic will be held on Monday, October 4th at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton.

"On behalf of the entire team at Guard Support of Massachusetts, we are truly delighted to be chosen as this year's tournament beneficiary," said Sherry Handel, Executive Director of Guard Support. "National Guard troop deployment has quadrupled in the last twelve months so the services we provide to Guard members and their families have increased dramatically. Danversbank's donation will provide significant relief to Guard families throughout the state in the form of emergency financial assistance and non-repayable grants for bills, childcare and unexpected expenses that these families would otherwise be unable to pay."

If your company is interested in sponsoring a golf hole to benefit Guard Support, please contact Cheryl French at 978-739-0210 www.danversbank.com.

Founder Accepts "Massachusetts Committee Award for Outstanding Support" by the Department of Defense ESGR

Nate Dalton (left) is pictured accepting the Mass. ESGR Committee Award for Outstanding Performance with the Chairman of the Massachusetts Committee for ESGR, Tom Boyle (right).

The Massachusetts Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense, awarded Guard Support with the "Massachusetts Committee Award for Outstanding Performance". Nate Dalton, Guard Support's founder accepted the award at the Mass. ESGR Annual Awards Dinner held at Hanscom Air Force Base on May 15, 2010.

Guard Support was recently notified that the organization will be receiving an additional award - the prestigious "Seven Seals Award" at an upcoming National Guard post deployment event scheduled in August. The Seven Seals Award depicts the seals of the seven military services and is given at the discretion of the Chairman to recognize the efforts by a citizen, business, or organization whose supportive actions have benefited the Guard and Reserve Components in a significant manner. Recipients of this award have demonstrated outstanding support, commitment and extreme patriotism to the U.S. military.

Join Our Mailing List

In This Issue

Entrepreneurs' Funding Program Announcement

Danversbank Selects Guard Support as Golf Tournament Beneficiary

DOD ESGR Awards

Quick Links

Find us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

You can now follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Email Marketing by