Sandford Blitz takes the reins at the U.S. Small Business Administration's New England regional office
The man who will oversee the U.S. Small Business Administration's programming in New England, Sandford "Sandy" Blitz, was sworn in October 15 at the SBA's Boston offices. The stillness required of the new regional administrator to complete the ceremony was the last bit of standstill Blitz would see for awhile. He was immediately jettisoned into days of rapid-fire meetings, meet-and-greets and conference calls designed to update this former grant-and-loan consultant on all things small business in New England and around the country.
"My job is twofold," Blitz explained by phone, during a break between a conference call with his six New England district directors and hunkering down to wade through the paperwork accumulating on his desk. "One is to be the voice of New England small-businesses interests within the [SBA], to find out from my district directors what they feel is coming down from on-high. And the other part of my job is to represent Washington to the regional district."
Blitz, 70, has done the federal government hustle before. A native New Yorker, Blitz spent more than a decade as a regional representative for the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration under former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and, before that, held several managerial positions at the U.S. General Services Administration. Twenty-four years ago, Blitz and his wife, Mona, moved to the small northern Maine town of Hudson, and in 1996 Blitz launched Emesbee Associates, a consulting firm that helps public and private entities find government grants and loans. Though he says he was until recently in "semi-retirement," Blitz kept busy — working not just at Emesbee, but also as the executive director of the East-West Highway Association, executive manager of the Bangor Target Area Development Corporation and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Maine's Department of Public Administration.
When Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins nominated him last summer to fill the position former administrator Charlie Summers was vacating to serve in Iraq, Blitz says he felt he couldn't pass up an opportunity "to get back in at a very high level" to federal work.
As administrator of SBA's New England Region, Blitz manages the agency's financing, marketing and outreach programs in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
One of Blitz's duties is to oversee SBA New England's loan and microloan programs. In the 2006/2007 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the SBA guaranteed 5,649 loans totaling $836 million from private lenders to New England businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Maine received roughly $96 million of those loans. Massachusetts receives the bulk of the agency's guaranteed loans, mostly for businesses in and around Boston.
"The idea is to get as many loans out there as possible," says Blitz of his new position. "I want to make certain that as many small businesses know about our programs and loan opportunities as possible to avail themselves of our programs."
To that end, Blitz, like Summers before him, will travel frequently from his Boston office to division offices in each of his region's states. He says the SBA is planning to launch a new marketing strategy within the month that will "give us a better tool" to promote the SBA's programs and workshops.
"I understand what it takes for a small business to get going and to stay in business," he says. "So, obviously when I'm having conversations with people here at the SBA, when we're talking about programming and developing new policies and products, my experience with small businesses on the ground will allow me to say 'This is what small businesses need,' and to help small businesses and assist them in that regard."
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