Press release from U.S. Small Business Administration:
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, will travel to Asheville, North Carolina to assess damage from Hurricane Helene, meet with survivors, and tour a local SBA Business Recovery Center.
Accompanied by U.S. Representative Kathy Manning and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, Administrator Guzman will begin her day with a tour of Asheville’s historic Biltmore Village, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene. The leaders will assess the impact and meet with local business owners whose businesses were harmed by the storm. The tour will be open to members of the media; the meeting with business owners will be closed press.
After their meeting with local business owners, the leaders will travel to the River Arts District to visit two impacted small businesses. During these visits, they will meet with the business owners and assess the damage wrought by the hurricane. These events will be open press.
Administrator Guzman, Representative Manning, and Mayor Manheimer will then visit the local SBA Business Recovery Center. To protect the privacy of those seeking disaster aid, the interior of the Business Recovery Center is closed to members of the media. However, the leaders will participate in a media availability immediately after the tour, where they will provide an update on what they saw inside the Business Recovery Center and throughout the day.
The events below are open to members of the media who RSVP to theodora.lake@sba.gov.Interview requests should be directed to the same address.
Tuesday, October 8
Biltmore Village Damage Assessment
WHO: SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman
U.S. Representative Kathy Manning
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer
WHEN: 10:45 AM EDT
WHERE: Asheville, N.C. Location details sent upon RSVP to theodora.lake@sba.gov.
River Arts District Damage Assessment
WHO: SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman
U.S. Representative Kathy Manning
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer
WHEN: 11:30 AM EDT
WHERE: Asheville, N.C. Location details sent upon RSVP to theodora.lake@sba.gov.
Media Availability
WHO: SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman
U.S. Representative Kathy Manning
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer
WHEN: 1:30 PM EDT
WHERE: Asheville, N.C. Location details sent upon RSVP to theodora.lake@sba.gov.
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