Your Local SBA
Gary L. Cook Gary L. Cook, District Director of the Kansas City district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, has broad business experience that includes: corporate management, ownership and management of several small businesses, and an educational background that includes a B.S. in Business Administration from Southwest Missouri State University, a M.A. in Management from Webster University and a Doctorate in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a former corporate marketing manager with the Shell Oil Company and Litton Industries and owner and operator of his own cattle business and telecommunications companies, he knows first hand the challenge of meeting a payroll and being responsible for making the difficult decisions facing small business owners today. Cook comes to Kansas City having served as District Director for the SBA's South Florida district office, the SBA Charlotte, North Carolina district office, and the SBA Wichita, Kansas district office. Cook has also worked in the SBA's headquarters office in Washington, D.C., where he served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations and provided policy guidance and management oversight to over 100 regional, district and branch offices throughout the country. As district director, Cook is responsible for the management and delivery of the SBA's programs in 89 counties served by the Kansas City district office and Springfield branch office. There are approximately 529,435 small businesses in the geographical area representing 98% of the total business profile. Cook supervises the activities of 34 permanent SBA employees and the administration of a total business loan portfolio of over 4,300 loans worth more than $480 million. The Kansas City district office has a portfolio of more than 100 government contracts valued at more than $24 million under the agency's program for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses. In addition he has oversight responsibilities for seven chapters of Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) - Counselors to America's Small Business specializes in providing free business counseling, the Kansas and Missouri Small Business Development Centers, two Women Business Centers, a Business Information Center, and a One Stop Capital Shop located in Kansas City, Kansas. *Last Modified: 4-16-01 | |||
