BTW News Briefs

Donald Roseman Joins Ingram Content Group as Vice President of Retail

Donald Roseman has joined the Ingram Content Group in the new position of vice president of retail. Roseman will focus on Ingram’s overall retail business, including national accounts, clubs, field sales, consumer direct fulfillment, and Ingram International.

“Donald brings tremendous consumer product experience to Ingram,” said Ingram Content Group Chief Commercial Officer Shawn Everson. “He will enhance our existing all-star retail team with his expertise in leading our sales and business development efforts.”

Prior to joining Ingram, Roseman, who holds a Bachelor of Science in sales and marketing from Bob Jones University, served as general manager and senior vice president of sales and business development at Goodbaby International Holdings. He has also led national and international sales teams working with retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Sears, and Toys-R-Us.

Pulitzer Prizes Centennial Organizers Issue Reading Challenge

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes in 2016, the centennial celebration’s organizers have launched the Pulitzer100 Challenge, which encourages people to read one Pulitzer Prize-winning book from each of seven literary prize categories: Biography or Autobiography, Drama, Fiction (1948–present), General Nonfiction, History, Novel (1917–1947), and Poetry.

An eighth “Bonus” category asks participants to seek out a Pulitzer-winning photograph, cartoon, or newspaper story. Participants in the challenge also have the option of reading seven different books from one of the literature categories. Readers are encouraged to use the hashtag #Pulitzer100 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to show how the challenge is going.

The Prizes, established in 1917 by provisions in the will of publisher Joseph Pulitzer to honor achievements in journalism, literature, and music, are administered by Columbia University in New York City. Winners of the 2016 Pulitzer Prizes will be announced on April 18.

SBA Begins Online Matchmaking for Small Business Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a new initiative called LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to access Capital), a matchmaking service to help entrepreneurs connect with lenders.

Loan applicants can fill out SBA’s 20-question online form, which is then blasted out to participating SBA lenders in the applicant’s county, as well as to financial institutions with a statewide or national reach, in order to help fast track and pre-screen their applications. If LINC does not produce an immediate match with a lender, applicants are directed to their local SBA adviser for additional assistance.

In February, SBA began connecting small business owners with nonprofit lenders, which has led to participating LINC lenders in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Later this year, SBA will add more traditional banks to its roles offering a wider array of financial products.

In the longer term, SBA plans call for LINC to be modified to facilitate government contracting by connecting eligible small businesses with procurement officers, prime contractors, and federal buyers.