CARLSBAD SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
''Client of the Year - 2011'' Beverly Ballard, Ballard Bus, Inc.
Carlsbad SBDC is proud to announce our choice for "Client of the Year for 2011" - Mrs. Beverly Ballard.
About 480,000 yellow school buses provide transportation service daily nationwide. School buses are school-readiness vehicles, providing access to education for every American child. Ballard Bus, Inc is a transportation provider for the to-and -from students in grades pre K through 12th who attend school within the Carlsbad school district. It is owned by Harley and Debbie Ballard. The company started in 1973 as Ballard Bus Co. with 17 to-and -from routes. In 1995 it incorporated into Ballard Bus, Inc. and ran 21 routes.
In 2010, Ballard Bus Inc. was given the opportunity to purchase a local school bus company. The purchase of company would increase Ballard’s Bus Inc. routes from 21 routes to 41 routes. It would also increase the number of people employed at the company.
Debby Ballard approached the NMSU Carlsbad SBDC in 2010 with the prospect of making this purchase possible. “I cannot say enough about the SBDC in Carlsbad. When I walked in to talk to Lisa Chavez about wanting to buy Johnsons Bus Co Inc., she was very excited about having the opportunity to help us. She asked me specific questions to find out about the purchase and was very diligent in her work. The final result was a business plan that ultimately allowed us to get the funding we needed to purchase the business. The SBDC has been extremely helpful to our company. With the assistance provided, we retained 41 jobs in Carlsbad”.
After the loan was approved, Ballard Bus Inc. remodeled their building to make room for additional employees. The company also added on additional covered buildings for the buses being purchased.
When asked if he would recommend the SBDC to other business, Debby Ballard said “The SBDC works tirelessly to help you succeed. They helped us through the entire process and if they didn’t know the answer, they would go out of their way to find the right people who did”.
NMSU Carlsbad SBDC Assistant Director Lisa Chavez said “It was a privilege to work with a company that has been in business for over 40 years. To be in business this long, they without doubt, have made good business decisions”.
Take advantage of our FREE services.
The Carlsbad Small Business
Development Center (SBDC) offers:
• FREE One-On-One Business Counseling
• Financial Analysis
• Marketing Assistance
Local Business Partners
Carlsbad Dept of Development (575) 887-6562
Sandia Laboratories, Carlsbad Office (575) 236-0026
County of Eddy (575) 887-9511
City of Carlsbad (575) 887-1191
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce(575) 887-6516
Artesia Chamber of Commerce (575) 746-2744
For more information on any of our events, please call (575) 885-9531.
SBDC Staff
Director, Larry Coalson, MBA
Joined the SBDC in September of 1989 as the director, when the program was contracted to the Carlsbad Department of Development from New Mexico State University. The program reverted to NMSU on July 1, 1999 and the staff was retained.Larry attended NMSU and received a BS in Agriculture in 1970. A Masters in Business Administration was awarded in 1989 from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. Larry also received the Certificated Financial Planner designation from the College for Financial Planning, Denver Colorado. In addition he is active with the Heights Lions Club and has served as President and Treasurer. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Otis Mutual Domestic Water and Sewer Company and serves as the board Secretary / Treasurer.
Administrative Assistant, Vada Mata
Joined the SBDC in August of 2009 as Administrative Secretary. Vada completed the Professional Development Program to receive the Certified Support Specialist certificate in 2010. She has an Associates in Business Office Technology in Word Processing. Vada has 12 years of retail business experience as well as 8 years of business office experience. She worked in the Student Services Department of NMSUC for 3 years and 1 year with the Community Education Program helping register students for classes.
Contact
Small Business Development Center
New Mexico State University-Carlsbad
221 South Canyon Street
Carlsbad, NM 88220
(575) 885-9531
(575) 885-1515 fax
lcoalson@cavern.nmsu.edu
vmata@cavern.nmsu.edu
Hours: 8 am–5 pm, Monday-Thursday, 8 am-12 noon, Friday
Visit our NMSUC website for addition information: www.cavern1.nmsu.edu and click on Departments and then on Small Business Development Center.
