Small business journalist of the year

Jerry Chautin has been named Small Business Journalist of the Year 2006 by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He will receive the award at a State Department dinner reception on April 12 during Small Business Week in Washington, D.C.

Chautin earned this award for promoting the entrepreneurial spirit of America in his writing. His weekly column, “Let’s Talk Business,” runs every Sunday in the Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla. He is also a business writer for The Cherokee Scout in Murphy, N.C., which initially nominated him for the award.

Chautin joined SCORE as a volunteer counselor in 1993. He is a member of Atlanta SCORE and Manasota SCORE in Sarasota. He also provides face-to-face counseling in western North Carolina as well as online counseling through SCORE’s Web site, www.score.org. His areas of expertise include business plans, financing options and commercial real estate. In addition, he has developed and presented business seminars on these topics.

Chautin spent 30 years in mortgage banking, business lending and commercial real estate. During his career, he wrote articles for trade magazines. He picks the topics of his columns based on the business issues facing the communities where they appear. Currently, he is exploring how to nationally syndicate his column.