SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) concludes this spring's edition of its six-part free seminar series on Tuesday with the popular "How to Get a Business Loan" seminar.

The seminar starts at 6 p.m. in Room 103 of Van Dusen Hall on the Sandhills Community College campus.

Registration is required and may be done by calling (910) 695-3938 or sending an e-mail to neelym@sandhills.edu. Participants can also register beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the seminar.

The seminar series is jointly sponsored by the Sandhills chapter of SCORE and the Small Business Center of Sandhills Community College.

In this seminar, two speakers will provide information on everything a small business needs to know about obtaining a business loan.

Ray Manuel, from the Fayetteville Women's Business Center, will review the four Small Business Administration-sponsored Community Express Loan programs. These programs are uniquely suited to those needing a relatively small amount of startup capital.

Two of the programs are exceptional in that they do not require collateral. Every small business startup needs to be aware of these programs.

In addition, Patrick Mackie, a loan specialist with 1st Citizens Bank bank in Pinehurst, will discuss all aspects of the loan process, including risk evaluation, credit scores, decision-making, collateral and more. He will also answer questions from attendees. His experience and straightforward information about banking's inner workings will be very helpful to anyone looking for a business loan, a SCORE news release said.

"In these challenging economic times, no small business will want to miss interacting with the financial people who have the view 'from the inside' on what it takes to obtain a business loan," a SCORE spokesman said. "This seminar is designed to replace the small business person's concern and fear with the confidence that he or she has it 'all together.'"

SCORE is a nationwide nonprofit association of experienced business people who provide free, confidential business counseling to small business owners. The Sandhills Chapter is active in counseling, mentoring and presenting free business seminars.

Anyone wanting to speak to SCORE counselors must register as a client www.edmisscore.org/0364. A counselor will contact you.

In addition to counseling by appointment, the Sandhills chapter has drop-in service for those who have registered from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Fridays at the Moore County Chamber of Commerce building on U.S. 15-501 in Southern Pines. The phone number is (910) 692-3936.

More information on SCORE's counseling activity and a complete description of each seminar can be found at the Sandhills SCORE website, www.sandhills-score.org.