Business mentoring group sees increase in need

An area business mentoring program says its services were up 15 percent this year.

The South Central Indiana Chapter of SCORE held its annual holiday luncheon yesterday at Hotel Indigo in Columbus.

SCORE president Rick Klein said that organization helped 162 clients this fiscal year, a 15 percent increase over last year. But Klein also said that the number of available mentors has dropped to 20. The organization would live to have more than 30 mentors on hand.

SCORE mentors are experts in entrepreneurship and related fields who meet with small business clients to provide free advice and support. SCORE is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration to help support the startup, growth and success of small businesses and not-for-profit groups in the area.

The local SCORE chapter covers 16 counties including Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings and Shelby counties.