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Judy Hart
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Armando Paolino
NFIB
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Businessman Penn Ritter Named Chair of NFIB Leadership Council
Former clerk of the CT House to call upon legislative background to help small business
HARTFORD, Conn., June 11, 2002 - Hartford businessman Penn Ritter has been named leadership council chairman of NFIB/Connecticut, the state's largest small-business advocacy group. NFIB State Director Armando Paolino announced the appointment today in Hartford.
The co-founder and president of Business Lenders (www.businesslenders.com), a small business that provides funding to other small businesses, Ritter knows the challenges these entrepreneurs face firsthand. He combines this background with extensive experience in state government, including 13 years as house clerk for the Connecticut State Legislature, serving five House Speakers.
"Penn Ritter has faced the challenges all of Connecticut's Main Street entrepreneurs face," said Paolino. "He combines his business background as a small-business owner and CEO with extensive and impressive experience in state government.
"NFIB is truly fortunate to have the leadership of Penn Ritter to shape our efforts on behalf of small-business owners," continued Paolino. "His varied background makes him uniquely qualified to fight on behalf of Connecticut's small job creators. We are excited to have his knowledge of government and the state legislature to strengthen our efforts."
"I know the hurdles small-business owners face and the problems state legislators must solve," said Ritter. "I look forward to fighting for small business and helping guide our issues and concerns through the halls of state government.
"I have a great appreciation of what the government can do for small business, as well as what it can do to small business," Ritter noted. "NFIB shares my belief that the two must work as partners to solve problems."
With the help of NFIB, Ritter recently enlisted many of his former legislative colleagues to help pass a law allowing businesses to claim the fees associated with a Small Business Administration loan as a tax credit. The law is now being considered as a model for similar legislation in other states.
"In my work, I see small-business owners who try to do the right thing, but can't afford to because of government mandates," said Ritter. "Business owners want to provide health insurance to their employees and protect the environment, but the government needs to make it easier for them to do so, not more difficult."
Business Lenders was formed around the fabled Ritter kitchen table more than eight years ago. Today the company employs 30 people and has loaned millions of dollars to small businesses, including many start-ups, in 41 states.
"It's the most rewarding feeling in the world to see a business that we helped get off the ground grow and prosper," Ritter says. "It's a thrill you never get over."
Ritter also serves as chair for the Connecticut Small Business Administration (SBA) Advisory Council, and also as Chair of the Connecticut SBA's Key to the Future, the SBA's non-profit LLC. He is a member of the Government Affairs Committee of the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce and was a major player in bringing the U.S. Government's Welfare-to-Work program, through the SBA, to fruition in New England.
Business Lenders is a unit of Medallion Financial Corporation, a New York-based specialty finance company, which offers a full spectrum of business lending services through its many subsidiaries. Medallion is listed on NASDAQ with the symbol, TAXI. For additional information from Business Lenders, write the company at 15 Lewis Street, Hartford, Conn. 06103, telephone, 877-34LOANS, or visit the company website at www.businesslenders.com.
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the largest small-business advocacy group in Connecticut and nationwide. NFIB represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals. NFIB's 2002 National Small Business Summit will be held June 12-15 in Washington, D.C. More information is available on-line at www.nfib.com
