The Small Business Development Center has made a New Year’s resolution to re-establish its presence in Rome.

With the aid of Rome’s Heritage First Bank, SBDC counselors out of the Dalton State College office will be in Rome at least one day a week beginning the first week of January.

The Rome office at Georgia Highlands College closed in September of 2008 as part of the college’s budget reduction measures.

Heritage First Bank President Ryan Earnest said the bank saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community and that a lot of the bank’s customers are served through SBDC programs.

Former Rome manager of the SBDC Peter Matthews is now a credit and loan analyst with Heritage First and helped put Earnest in contact with state SBDC Director Allan Adams in Athens.

Adams said Rome is a concentrated area for business and the SBDC made a big first step toward re-establishing a presence in Rome with its co-sponsorship of the FastTrac program for small business at the Chamber of Commerce. “We are looking at growing our presence and impact in Rome,” said Adams.

“Every office has outlying communities where they need a place to meet with clients confidentially. Sometimes it’s the Chamber of Commerce, sometimes an extension office,” said Adams.

He credited Matthews with helping find the space in the Heritage First Bank Operations Center at 205 E. First Ave.

“The SBDC is a consistent driver of small business, it was a no-brainer for us to help provide office space for them,” said Earnest.

Rand Riedrich, the northwest area director out of Dalton College, said that initially, he expects to be in the Rome office at Heritage First each Wed­nesday. He encourages potential clients to contact his office in Dalton for an appointment. The phone number is 706-272-2700.

Riedrich said most of the SBDC clients are already in business and need help with financing, marketing and strategic planning. Clients who are looking to start a business often get help with establishing a business plan, which in turn is critical to obtaining financing.

Riedrich says he is targeting small business in Rome and Cartersville with the office space in Rome and added that if the volume of work warrants it, he’ll try to be in Rome more frequently. “Floyd and Bartow counties are very, very dynamic areas as far as business activity goes,” said Riedrich.

His goal is to provide assistance to as many as 150 clients a year through the office.

After the Rome office at Georgia Highlands closed, the two counselors and one assistant in the Dalton office have been responsible for serving clients in the counties of Dade, Walker, Catoosa Whitfield, Murray, Gilmer, Fannin, Pickens, Chattooga, Gordon, Bartow and Floyd.