Contributed

SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) concludes the winter/spring 2013 edition of its six-part free seminar series Tuesday, Feb. 26, with the popular "How to Get a Business Loan."

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 by emailing neelym@sandhills. edu.

There will also be an opportunity for registration 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. This seminar provides everything a small business needs to know about obtaining a business loan, a SCORE news release said.

Ray Manuel, from the Center for Economic Empowerment and Devel-opment in Fayetteville, will review the four Small Business Administration-sponsored Community Express Loan programs. These programs are uniquely suited to small businesses. Every small business startup needs to be aware of these programs.

In addition, the seminar will include information on the loan process, including risk evaluation, credit scores, decision-making, collateral and many other aspects. The presenters will also answer questions from seminar attendees.

"This straightforward information will enlighten you on banking's inner workings and the implications for a small business interested in a loan," the SCORE 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.

"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 Sand-hills Chapter is active in counseling, mentoring and presenting free business seminars.

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

In addition to counseling by appointment, the Sandhills chapter of SCORE 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) 692-3926.

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