Catawba Valley Community College - Small Business Center

Todd Blair
Todd is a certified business transfer specialist with over fifteen years of management, sales and acquisition experience. He also has extensive experience in the areas of strategic planning, negotiations and finance. He has served at the general management level for a NASDAQ 100 corporation and as a pharmaceutical consultant, trainer and analyst. He received his BS from NC State University and his MBA degree, concentrating in Entrepreneurial Studies, from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.

Maggi Braun
Maggi brings a wealth of practical experience as a business owner, as well as years of experience in counseling and training for entrepreneurs. She is a former Director of the award-winning Center for Small Business and Entrepreneurship at Central Piedmont Community College. Participants in her sessions always learn something today that will enable them to make money tomorrow.

Sherre DeMao
Sherre is President & Chief Marketeer for SLD Unlimited Marketing/PR, Inc, based in Denver, NC. In 2007, she was named among the Top 50 Enterprising Women in North America by Enterprising Women Magazine. In 2006 she was a Charlotte Chamber finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year, as well as an SBA Women in Business Champion. Her firm's creativity and ingenuity have been recognized regionally, nationally and internationally.

Tara Hicks
Tara is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Vonvention & Visitors Bureau, a division of the Tourism Development Authority responsible for recruiting meetings, conventions and sporting events to the Hickory area.

She and her husband have owned and operated a landscaping business, various athletic camps and have mulitple rental properties. She holds undergraduate degrees in Marketing, Management & Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration from Elon University.

Jeff Neuville & Eric Mclntire
Jeff and Eric are co-owners of Business Assist, a Hickory-based consulting firm that works with small and mid-sized companies to build organizational effectiveness and improve profitability.

Jeff brings over 20 years of business ownership and management experience, working with small businesses with less than $1 million in revenue to over $200 million. He is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Eric is an experienced human resources and operations executive with extensive background in Lean manufacturing and distribution. He has served as VP of Human Resources for a world leader in surface finishing. He is a graduate of Appalachian State and holds an MBA from Pfeiffer University. He is also a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Russ Seagle
Russ is owner of Seagle Management and Consulting in Cullowhee, NC, and since 1998 he has been helping companies improve their productivity and performance. With over 20 successful years of experience in management, sales, business ownership, training and consulting, he has helped all types of businesses and organizations by providing advice, best practices and innovations, as well as real-world skills that transfer directly to business owners and their staffs.

Mel Steiner
Mel holds an Accounting degree from San Jose State University in California. He is retired from the Internal Revenue Service after 33 years auditing Federal income tax returns, managing audit personnel and teaching tax law to revenue agents and tax practitioners. Since retirement, he has taught undergraduate tax courses at San Jose State, as well as recordkeeping and tax seminars at Catawba Valley Community College.

Robby Reynolds
Robby is president of Business Consulting Group, Inc in Shelby, NC. He earned his degree in Marketing from the University of South Carolina, and he and his associates have provided professional business consulting services to independently owned small businesses since 1974. Robby currently serves on several local boards: Hospice and Palliative Care of Cleveland County, Dover YMCA, and Cleveland County Business Development Center. He has also served on the state board of National Association of Tax Professionals.