A HELPING HAND EXECUTIVES OPEN NEW SCORE LOCATION.Byline: Nicholas Nicholas, Russian grand duke Nicholas (Nikolai Nikolayevich) (nyĭkəlī` nyĭkəlī`əvĭch), 1856–1929, Russian grand duke and army officer; first cousin of Czar Alexander III and grandson of Czar Grudin Staff Writer VALENCIA Valencia, region, Spain Valencia (välān`thēä), autonomous region (1990 pop. 3,902,429) and former kingdom, E Spain, on the Mediterranean. It now comprises the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia. - Doing business in the valley just got a bit easier, with a team of retired executives opening an office to help unpracticed entrepreneurs turn savvy. Sixteen business owners have contacted the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, office of the Service Corps of Retired Executives in the past three weeks, with questions about everything from selling a family-owned store to starting an innovative technology company. ``Any small business has its own pitfalls and its own opportunities, and we try to give people greater insight,'' said Ted Rafalovich, one of four SCORE counselors. ``This is access to everybody's dreams.'' Rafalovich, a former Silicon Valley executive and founder of his own consulting business, would like to see the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. develop the same type of job base that the Bay Area did during the technology boom. ``Our charter is to get higher and more quality jobs in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' Rafalovich said. ``I was living in Silicon Valley, and I think they did a good job of developing that area - I'd I'd 1. Contraction of I had. 2. Contraction of I would. I'd I had or I would I'd have ~would like to see that done here.'' Founded in 1964, SCORE is a national program with more than 400 chapters across the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , providing free and confidential mentoring to entrepreneurs. The organization uses volunteers, like Rafalovich, with expertise in specific fields, such as marketing, accounting, general management and computers. Maureen Stephenson, 71, who owns a publishing company in Santa Clarita and is a SCORE counselor, thinks the opening of the office is particularly timely because of the struggling California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). economy. ``It's definitely valuable, especially now, when the economy is so bad and so many businesses are moving out of California and losing their jobs,'' Stephenson said. ``Keeping people working in Santa Clarita - keeping body and soul together - would be the best thing for the community.'' The Santa Clarita SCORE office - located within the Chamber of Commerce and open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays - already has a waiting list, Stephenson said. Santa Clarita's is one of 17 SCORE offices in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County; the main county office is in Glendale. For information about SCORE, call (661) 284-7505, or log on to www.score.org. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Ted Rafalovich, left, discusses the SCORE program with Larry Mankin, chief executive officer of the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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