Bruce Hayes, new executive director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center in Knoxville.

Knoxville's Tennessee Small Business Development Center, an affiliate of Pellissippi State Community College, has named Bruce Hayes as its new executive director.

Hayes has worked for the TSBDC for nine years as a small business counselor. He steps into his new position following the retirement earlier this year of former executive director Larry Rossini.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunities of this new position," said Hayes, who before coming to work at TSBDC was a custom homebuilder. "I'm planning to build on the work TSBDC has been doing for years now, and add a new focus on small businesses that are already up and operating."

Hayes has worked with numerous startup businesses like The Flower Pot and Blue Slip Winery through his work at TSBDC.

"Our mission is to encourage economic growth in Tennessee. It's those small businesses that contribute to the economic development of the state because it's those business owners who are hiring people and expanding," Hayes said.

"However, current small-business owners are focused on running their business. They don't necessarily know who to go to if they need help. We want to expand the direction of TSBDC so that we can ensure existing small business owners know we have the resources to help them. We're not just here for startups."

Pellissippi State's Small Business Development Center serves Blount, Claiborne, Cocke, Jefferson, Knox, Sevier and Union counties. In 2015, it served 466 clients for a total of 2,135 counseling hours. The TSBDC helped 30 new businesses start up, create 183 new jobs and retain 1,280 jobs. The firms TSBDC aided went on to create more than $11 million in new capital investment into the local economy.

The Small Business Development Center is affiliated with Pellissippi State and partners with the college on training opportunities and workforce development.

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call 865-694-6400.

Published June 20, 2016