This is base on a true story This is a letter I sent to the President and CEO, America's SBDC And David Goodman of the Columbus , Ohio SBDC June 23, 2015 Edward Rowe III President/CEO President and CEO, America's SBDC 8990 Burke Lake Road, 2nd Floor Burke, VA 22015 Dear Mr. Rowe: RE: Complaint of the Small Business Development Center, Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers After many years of the run around from the Small Business Development Center, SBDC, their violation of business ethics, lack of professionalism, misconduct by Jeff Shick, SBDC Patents Expert, Columbus, OH, and mismanagement by Mike Bowers, Director of SBDC, Columbus, OH, regarding my invention and patent, I am expecting a reply or I am turning this Agency funded by Ohio Taxpayers to the Channel 6 News. In the 1980s, I invented a gutter cleaning tool. I was told that I should get a patent on it. Life came first and dreams came second, so I put this on hold.
In the 1990s I met with a Patent Attorney, he agreed to do my patent. Then in 1996, I was in a car accident, which left me on Disability SSI. In 2000, I settled the claim from the car accident which enabled me to manufacture my gutter cleaning tool. After that I ran out of money marketing the tool on my own. I came to a crossroads and decided to go back to school with aid from a government program to study to be a computer tech repairing computers to enable me to continue with my patent on my gutter cleaning tool. At the time of this major decision of starting a new career, I was put in contact with the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Service, BVR, of Columbus, Ohio, by the Licking County Jobs and Family Services. I learned that the BVR would not only finance my invention and help me get a patent, but they would also introduce me to a manufacturer to license my gutter cleaning tool. At my first BVR meeting, I was told that if you have a business idea we can help you with it. So I told them about my invention. They agreed to help me with my patent and encouraged me to give my business a name: TGK Invention Company. Then I was introduced to the Small Business Development Center, SBDC, in Columbus, OH. In 2002, Jeff Shick from the SBDC became involved with my patent and the BVR. It was 100% forward as we started working on obtaining my patent. The patent process was now in progress, but soon after we got started Jeff Shick started the history of not returning my phone calls or emails. My counselor, Melody Borchers, C.B.A. Regional Coordinator could not reach him either. He did the first patent application and botched it up. He wouldn't return any of the phone calls to him from the patent office, me, or Melody, my counselor. Then I received a letter from the patent office, labeling my patent Abandonment. This is the doing of Mr. Jeff Shick. This back and forth went on for two and half years while I was in the program with the BVR and SBDC. Melody Borchers and I both complained to the office of the SBDC and was told by Jeff's boss Mike Bowers, To stick with him. And this time his boss told him to take care of it for me. His boss told me to stick with him over and over for 12 years, always stating that this time he will take care of it for me. Then in 2005 the BVR closed my case after two and a half years and spending over $30,000 of tax payers' money and I had over $10,000 of my money vested in this. When I asked the SBDC, What about my patent? I was told by Mike Bowers to keep calling and emailing Jeff to get that patent completed. Melody explained, This is Jeff's job, this is what he gets paid to do with tax payers' money. I continued to meet with Jeff while he continuously told me to hang on was going to take care of this for me. My last meeting with Jeff Shick was on June 5, 2012 at the Newark Public Library where he then told me he was moving on. This is the man who was to help me with my patent and find a manufacturer to license my product. Melody Borchers and Jeff Shick had both told me that with a licensing agreement I would be able to receive a 3 percent royalty, earning up to $2.5 million a year, and that was before I was told by the Jeff Shick and the patent office that when I get my patent that I would hold the patent to this design. Now after complaining to the SBDC office about this for 12 years, and told to stick with it, they are telling me to move on and they are not going to do anything about this. This has cost me my patent, a chance to have a job in computer repair, paid for by the government, years of time and energy trying to make this work while dealing with people who are supposed to be professionals helping small businesses/inventors, and loss of all my dreams, plus over $10,000, gone because of this neglect. Thirty years of my life dreams are gone thanks to Jeff Shick of the SBDC. Over the last two years, I have told them that I am going to sue them and I am going to put my story on Channel 6 News and they keep telling me to hold on and they will fix it; they haven't yet, and I can wait no longer. After talking with an attorney I know that I have rights. I can be very resourceful and I believe Channel 6 News - ABC 6 On Your Side would be interested in this story. They have since relocated Jeff Shick who botched this up in the first place. After Mike Bowers told me that they fired him . And in a meeting with Susan Foltz SBDC Associate Director and Connie Spruill Consultant , Susan told Connie and me that they fired Jeff Shick . I know for a fact that I am not the only business that has been destroyed by Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers. I just went through two more years in the program with the SBDC and the BVR, and was told by SBDC, That now my patent is not worth pursuing, and there isn't a manufacturer that would want to license this from me now. thanks to this man and these programs. I have 12 years' worth of communications trying to contact Jeff and complaints to his boss Mike Bowers about him and Mike's responses to hold on and he will help me. I have email communications from my counselor about Jeff and the ways of the SBDC, along with years of notes. I have met with the Deputy Chief, Ezra Escudero OBA/State SBDC Director, Office of Business Assistance. This letter is all he thinks that should be done. I strongly disagree. I am asking for compensation for the loss of my patent, loss of my invention, loss of a career after being told we can do it all for you, and the wasted years of dishonesty by this office. I deserve so much more than a statement of Move On from this organization; this is not acceptable. I am asking for $ 2.5 million dollars. This is one year of earnings from my gutter tool as communicated to me by Jeff Shick and Melody Borchers. Awaiting your reply. Sincerely, Thomas Humble Below is a letter I got from the Deputy Chief, Ezra Escudero OBA/State SBDC Director Office of Business Assistance . Regarding how my case was handle in the program . But not naming names or business . He sent this letter to every one with the SBDC that works under him in the state of Ohio . Okay. I'm sorry the attachment didn't stick - and I'm glad I checked back in. I've copied-and-pasted the letter below. Please let me know what you think. Thank you, -Ezra. > > > > > > > This is an account based upon a true story. During the past year, I have learned much about the SBDC program. We are blessed with a unique responsibility: to serve entrepreneurs who take risks, demonstrate ingenuity, and create jobs. We already know that the entrepreneur's mission is a daunting one. Most business ideas never become businesses. Most new businesses never make it to their fifth anniversary. Business is tough. It takes money, persistence, creativity, and a keen ability to manage lots of different variables. That's where we come in. We're here to help entrepreneurs because we offer professional, certified business skills. We offer a fresh perspective and unbiased pair of eyes catch promise and peril which may be just outside the periphery of the entrepreneur's vision. We succeed when the entrepreneur succeeds. We succeed when we help an entrepreneur to avoid failure. Sometimes, we cannot help an entrepreneur to succeed. But very rarely to my knowledge, only once might we have failed a hopeful entrepreneur. Our friend (let us call her Teresa) Which is me Thomas Humble came to us a few years ago. She had tremendous enthusiasm for a creative idea: an invention designed to make a tedious task easier to perform. He came to the SBDC for help in bringing his idea to market. One of our hard working, well intentioned colleagues (let us call him Jonah) Which is Jeff Shick got to work right away! Jonah began to study Teresa's case. He committed to help walk her through the process of registering her invention with the US Patent Office. After all, Jonah was working on an invention himself, and was very familiar with the process. Along the way, Teresa was starting to dream of the opportunity, success, and achievement awaiting her. Business success would certainly grant her some long sought-after financial freedom, not just for herself, but for her family. This can actually be difficult, because the entrepreneur's enthusiasm must always be tempered with reality. Business success is costly. It means that you're committed to your business 24-7. It means a lot of work for months and years before a paycheck ever materializes. True financial freedom for the entrepreneur is years away from a business launch. I have no doubt that Jonah worked hard to provide this reality check for Teresa, but that doesn't always mean that the message is understood. For inventors like Teresa, there is even more struggle ahead. A new business is a difficult thing to launch and run successfully. A new invention is even harder to sell. Only one patent out of 500 is commercially viable (Business Week, November 10, 2005), only one product out of 1,500 ideas is ever launched (Your Company Magazine, October 1997), and only one invention in 5,000 ever has a successful product launch (Black Enterprise, June 1999) At any rate, our story takes a turn after a few years of work together. Jonah was dealing with some of his own personal challenges. Who can't relate? We all have busy lives, commitments to family and friends, and it certainly seems that more and more, we are all overworked with inadequate resources. Jonah had some family pressures to deal with, and of course, they never come without some financial difficulty to boot. He's a good guy, but a good guy who made a mistake Jonah was no longer following up frequently with Teresa. Before too long, years kept on rolling, and Jonah finally moved on, leaving the SBDC. Teresa was practically forgotten, but she never forgot her dreams. As I said before, a budding entrepreneur has a difficult task in starting a new business. An aspiring inventor has an even more difficult task in launching a new product in a new business venture. Teresa was not likely to become an overnight millionaire, but more than being denied some sky high dreams, she was denied an opportunity to succeed or fail by her own merit and through her own effort. We must never let things get to this point. A client entrepreneur of the SBDC must never be left with doubt by us because of a lack of follow-up. We often must be the bearers of bad news, informing a some-day business owner that she doesn't have enough money, or time, or a clear enough plan for success. These factors are not our fault, especially if we follow-through with our commitments to advise clients on a timely basis. But when things slip, that doubt can creep in. When the day grows long and the soul grows weary, please remember Teresa. Ask a colleague for help. Send a quick follow-up note, lest too much time goes by and commitments are forgotten. Never be too shy to say I'm sorry. I'll get back on this for you. As awkward as a minor memory lapse can make us feel, it doesn't compare with the pain of doubt, the pain of never knowing about what might have been. I always believe that something good can always come out of even the least desirable situations. Let Jonah's innocent mistake and Teresa's frustration serve as inspiration. We help people nurture their dreams into reality. That is a very special responsibility. You are not alone in fulfilling this duty, and never hesitate to call upon your fellow SBDC family members so that a dream never slips past our fingers. It really is that important. Like I said, I only know of one story like Teresa's story. Let's recommit ourselves to keep it that way. Thank you for your commitment and dedication. You are the best. # # # MY REPLY Dear. Mr. Escudero, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy day to meet with me regarding my issue with Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers of the SBDC. I thank you for taking the time to do the letter. I hope it enlightens the others of the SBDC. I also hope this kind of behavior never happens again. But, like I was saying in my complaint, and like I told Mike Bowers two years ago, and everyone else who I have been in contact with in the SBDC program. I am going to ask OHIO TAXPAYERS what should happen here regarding Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers, and what do I deserve for all of my loss? Jeff Shick knew how to do his job and how to help me with my patent and finding a manufacturer to license my gutter kit. He failed miserably. I am sure you know that meeting with you and getting a letter about how not to screw someone out of a patent, a manufacturing business, and a licensing agreement is not going to make me happy! I have lost every dream I have ever had, due to Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers. Mr. Escudero, when I came to the BVR and the SBDC 12 years ago there was never a statement from anyone there saying: I don't think this can happen, or No, I don't think so. It was all 100% forward, with the BVR backing me all the way. And once I started complaining about Jeff Shick, I should have known that it was all over with, but I kept going on and on with Jeff Shick and his promises for 12 years. All Jeff would have had to say was, Tom I can't do this. But he did not. He just lead me on for 12 years, knowing that he was not going to do this for me. Mr. Escudero, where is the accountability for his actions? I believe we should all be held accountable for our actions. I feel I have no other option but to contact an attorney and Channel 6 News, and any other News Stations that will air my story warning other hopeful inventors of what has happened to me with my patent and business at the hands of state employees. This way people can rethink doing business with state programs that should be helping them instead of leading them on for years and destroying their dreams. I simply want what is right, Jeff Shick held accountable. We all have life problems and we all deal with them and continue doing our jobs with responsibility! I am a very resourceful person and along with contacting an Attorney, I intend to also put my story on Facebook, You Tube, Linked-In, etc . All Comments Are Welcome : Can send copys of patent papers and the pics of my invention that was SUBMITED . Sincerely, Thomas Humble Newark, Ohio 43055 [email protected] Letter from C.T. Rowe 8990 Burke Lake Road Second Floor, Burke, VA 22015 (703)764-9850 www.asbdc-us.org August 20, 2015 Mr. Thomas Humble Newark, OH 43055 Mr. Humble, I apologize for the delay in my response. This is an extraordinarily busy time of year for me. I assure you I was not ignoring your letter but, I am afraid you will not be pleased with my response. I received your letter outlining your complaints with the service you received at the Ohio SBDC. While I understand your disappointment and frustration, this association does not manage or operate any SBDC. We are simply the association formed to represent the many SBDCs that operate nationwide. We organize their annual conference and other meetings but are not, in any way, in charge of their activities. Each SBDC is operated by its host institution according to a cooperative agreement with the US Small Business Administration. As such, I am not in a position to either respond to your allegations against the Ohio SBDC or offer you any sort of compensation. I did make some inquiries regarding your situation. I was informed that you were referred to certain other State of Ohio programs for assistance with your invention and patent, though I am not familiar with the outcome of those referrals. I also believe that many of the problems with your patent application should have been handled by your patent attorney, I understood from your letter that you had engaged one. Finally, I understand that the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Ohio investigated your complaint. That office found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Ohio SBDC. Again, I understand your frustration and disappointment. However, I am in no position to assist you as the association has no authority over the management or operations of SBDCs. Sincerely, C. E. Rowe President Association of Small Business Development Centers Thank you for reading my story , Thomas Humble
America's SBDC Reviews
ST. MARY SARAH ORPHANAGE SCHOOL
Dear sir
How are you today i first apologise for replying to late.
we had a sick child suffering from throat cancer. and in Uganda we dont
have any machine or technic to cure cancer. i have been looking for money
to take this child to India and they want Usd. 70500 to cover medical bills
but so far i have raised Usd.34500 now they want a balance of Usd. 36000
But the child has now gone India for treatment of cancer.
i will be giving you the history of our country and in particular about
our school also about my dreams and what does my dream mean.
now i ask you to
if you can also give us some help of any kind and amount then you can pass
the naid through SEND ON WESTERN UNION Director NAME OF
KAGIMU DALAUSI REPUBLIC OF UGANDA NATIONAL ID CARD
NIN : CM66024106 TUOA CARD NO: 005652863 OR IF YOU ARE SENDING MONEY YOU CAN SEND VIA
MOBILE AIRTEL MONEY USD $ 100 TWO 1500 CASH 256 752692837
THANK YOU REG SARAH FROM
ST. MARY SARAH ORPHANAGE SCHOOL TEL 0752692837
ST. MARY SARAH ORPHANAGE SCHOOL
WE SHARE TOGETHER P.O.BOX 14626 KIREKA KAMPALA UGANDA (AFRICA)
PLOT NO. 41 BLOCK -37 SENTEM ROADTEL: AIRTEL MONEY 0752692837, /0701692837
Email:[email protected] / [email protected] , [email protected]
Our Ref:……4897………………………..
I am greeting you in the name of Jesus Christ. I am writing to ask for
financial assistance to complete the construction of an orphanage
school in our local village.
We started with rehabilitating 26 children and how we have 1980. But
among these children there those with H.I.V which means that we have
to establish a Clinic in our area to cater for the H.I.V victims.
We also have to set up a church so that the children are
brought up under Christian influence. We want to construct more
building to cater for a big number of children we get frequently to
our school.
Likewise we want to expand the area on which this school is
constructed this is because we want to have our own Acres of land for
growing our own food and farming, we also want transport of this
school, like buying a school van bus.
From this point of view we ask for assistance once again, I will be
very grateful if our humble request for assistance is given high
consideration
Yours faithfully
THE BUDGET REQUIRED WILL BE TOTAL SUM OF DOLLARS $674950.00
…………………………………
NAKALUNGI SARAH
HEAD MASTER OF THE SCHOOL.
DIRECTORY OF THE SCHOOL KAGIMU DALAUSI
REGESTERERD MAIL. OR
IN NAMES OF KAGIMU DALAUSI
RECOMMENDERS
1,KKONA EAST L.C.1
2,CHURCH OF LWEBITAKULI TEL 256754743318 reg ms sister Peter . Nakanyagi
This is base on a true story This is a letter I sent to the President and CEO, America's SBDC And David Goodman of the Columbus , Ohio SBDC June 23, 2015 Edward Rowe III President/CEO President and CEO, America's SBDC 8990 Burke Lake Road, 2nd Floor Burke, VA 22015 Dear Mr. Rowe: RE: Complaint of the Small Business Development Center, Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers After many years of the run around from the Small Business Development Center, SBDC, their violation of business ethics, lack of professionalism, misconduct by Jeff Shick, SBDC Patents Expert, Columbus, OH, and mismanagement by Mike Bowers, Director of SBDC, Columbus, OH, regarding my invention and patent, I am expecting a reply or I am turning this Agency funded by Ohio Taxpayers to the Channel 6 News. In the 1980s, I invented a gutter cleaning tool. I was told that I should get a patent on it. Life came first and dreams came second, so I put this on hold.
In the 1990s I met with a Patent Attorney, he agreed to do my patent. Then in 1996, I was in a car accident, which left me on Disability SSI. In 2000, I settled the claim from the car accident which enabled me to manufacture my gutter cleaning tool. After that I ran out of money marketing the tool on my own. I came to a crossroads and decided to go back to school with aid from a government program to study to be a computer tech repairing computers to enable me to continue with my patent on my gutter cleaning tool. At the time of this major decision of starting a new career, I was put in contact with the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Service, BVR, of Columbus, Ohio, by the Licking County Jobs and Family Services. I learned that the BVR would not only finance my invention and help me get a patent, but they would also introduce me to a manufacturer to license my gutter cleaning tool. At my first BVR meeting, I was told that if you have a business idea we can help you with it. So I told them about my invention. They agreed to help me with my patent and encouraged me to give my business a name: TGK Invention Company. Then I was introduced to the Small Business Development Center, SBDC, in Columbus, OH. In 2002, Jeff Shick from the SBDC became involved with my patent and the BVR. It was 100% forward as we started working on obtaining my patent. The patent process was now in progress, but soon after we got started Jeff Shick started the history of not returning my phone calls or emails. My counselor, Melody Borchers, C.B.A. Regional Coordinator could not reach him either. He did the first patent application and botched it up. He wouldn't return any of the phone calls to him from the patent office, me, or Melody, my counselor. Then I received a letter from the patent office, labeling my patent Abandonment. This is the doing of Mr. Jeff Shick. This back and forth went on for two and half years while I was in the program with the BVR and SBDC. Melody Borchers and I both complained to the office of the SBDC and was told by Jeff's boss Mike Bowers, To stick with him. And this time his boss told him to take care of it for me. His boss told me to stick with him over and over for 12 years, always stating that this time he will take care of it for me. Then in 2005 the BVR closed my case after two and a half years and spending over $30,000 of tax payers' money and I had over $10,000 of my money vested in this. When I asked the SBDC, What about my patent? I was told by Mike Bowers to keep calling and emailing Jeff to get that patent completed. Melody explained, This is Jeff's job, this is what he gets paid to do with tax payers' money. I continued to meet with Jeff while he continuously told me to hang on was going to take care of this for me. My last meeting with Jeff Shick was on June 5, 2012 at the Newark Public Library where he then told me he was moving on. This is the man who was to help me with my patent and find a manufacturer to license my product. Melody Borchers and Jeff Shick had both told me that with a licensing agreement I would be able to receive a 3 percent royalty, earning up to $2.5 million a year, and that was before I was told by the Jeff Shick and the patent office that when I get my patent that I would hold the patent to this design. Now after complaining to the SBDC office about this for 12 years, and told to stick with it, they are telling me to move on and they are not going to do anything about this. This has cost me my patent, a chance to have a job in computer repair, paid for by the government, years of time and energy trying to make this work while dealing with people who are supposed to be professionals helping small businesses/inventors, and loss of all my dreams, plus over $10,000, gone because of this neglect. Thirty years of my life dreams are gone thanks to Jeff Shick of the SBDC. Over the last two years, I have told them that I am going to sue them and I am going to put my story on Channel 6 News and they keep telling me to hold on and they will fix it; they haven't yet, and I can wait no longer. After talking with an attorney I know that I have rights. I can be very resourceful and I believe Channel 6 News - ABC 6 On Your Side would be interested in this story. They have since relocated Jeff Shick who botched this up in the first place. After Mike Bowers told me that they fired him . And in a meeting with Susan Foltz SBDC Associate Director and Connie Spruill Consultant , Susan told Connie and me that they fired Jeff Shick . I know for a fact that I am not the only business that has been destroyed by Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers. I just went through two more years in the program with the SBDC and the BVR, and was told by SBDC, That now my patent is not worth pursuing, and there isn't a manufacturer that would want to license this from me now. thanks to this man and these programs. I have 12 years' worth of communications trying to contact Jeff and complaints to his boss Mike Bowers about him and Mike's responses to hold on and he will help me. I have email communications from my counselor about Jeff and the ways of the SBDC, along with years of notes. I have met with the Deputy Chief, Ezra Escudero OBA/State SBDC Director, Office of Business Assistance. This letter is all he thinks that should be done. I strongly disagree. I am asking for compensation for the loss of my patent, loss of my invention, loss of a career after being told we can do it all for you, and the wasted years of dishonesty by this office. I deserve so much more than a statement of Move On from this organization; this is not acceptable. I am asking for $ 2.5 million dollars. This is one year of earnings from my gutter tool as communicated to me by Jeff Shick and Melody Borchers. Awaiting your reply. Sincerely, Thomas Humble Below is a letter I got from the Deputy Chief, Ezra Escudero OBA/State SBDC Director Office of Business Assistance . Regarding how my case was handle in the program . But not naming names or business . He sent this letter to every one with the SBDC that works under him in the state of Ohio . Okay. I'm sorry the attachment didn't stick - and I'm glad I checked back in. I've copied-and-pasted the letter below. Please let me know what you think. Thank you, -Ezra. > > > > > > > This is an account based upon a true story. During the past year, I have learned much about the SBDC program. We are blessed with a unique responsibility: to serve entrepreneurs who take risks, demonstrate ingenuity, and create jobs. We already know that the entrepreneur's mission is a daunting one. Most business ideas never become businesses. Most new businesses never make it to their fifth anniversary. Business is tough. It takes money, persistence, creativity, and a keen ability to manage lots of different variables. That's where we come in. We're here to help entrepreneurs because we offer professional, certified business skills. We offer a fresh perspective and unbiased pair of eyes catch promise and peril which may be just outside the periphery of the entrepreneur's vision. We succeed when the entrepreneur succeeds. We succeed when we help an entrepreneur to avoid failure. Sometimes, we cannot help an entrepreneur to succeed. But very rarely to my knowledge, only once might we have failed a hopeful entrepreneur. Our friend (let us call her Teresa) Which is me Thomas Humble came to us a few years ago. She had tremendous enthusiasm for a creative idea: an invention designed to make a tedious task easier to perform. He came to the SBDC for help in bringing his idea to market. One of our hard working, well intentioned colleagues (let us call him Jonah) Which is Jeff Shick got to work right away! Jonah began to study Teresa's case. He committed to help walk her through the process of registering her invention with the US Patent Office. After all, Jonah was working on an invention himself, and was very familiar with the process. Along the way, Teresa was starting to dream of the opportunity, success, and achievement awaiting her. Business success would certainly grant her some long sought-after financial freedom, not just for herself, but for her family. This can actually be difficult, because the entrepreneur's enthusiasm must always be tempered with reality. Business success is costly. It means that you're committed to your business 24-7. It means a lot of work for months and years before a paycheck ever materializes. True financial freedom for the entrepreneur is years away from a business launch. I have no doubt that Jonah worked hard to provide this reality check for Teresa, but that doesn't always mean that the message is understood. For inventors like Teresa, there is even more struggle ahead. A new business is a difficult thing to launch and run successfully. A new invention is even harder to sell. Only one patent out of 500 is commercially viable (Business Week, November 10, 2005), only one product out of 1,500 ideas is ever launched (Your Company Magazine, October 1997), and only one invention in 5,000 ever has a successful product launch (Black Enterprise, June 1999) At any rate, our story takes a turn after a few years of work together. Jonah was dealing with some of his own personal challenges. Who can't relate? We all have busy lives, commitments to family and friends, and it certainly seems that more and more, we are all overworked with inadequate resources. Jonah had some family pressures to deal with, and of course, they never come without some financial difficulty to boot. He's a good guy, but a good guy who made a mistake Jonah was no longer following up frequently with Teresa. Before too long, years kept on rolling, and Jonah finally moved on, leaving the SBDC. Teresa was practically forgotten, but she never forgot her dreams. As I said before, a budding entrepreneur has a difficult task in starting a new business. An aspiring inventor has an even more difficult task in launching a new product in a new business venture. Teresa was not likely to become an overnight millionaire, but more than being denied some sky high dreams, she was denied an opportunity to succeed or fail by her own merit and through her own effort. We must never let things get to this point. A client entrepreneur of the SBDC must never be left with doubt by us because of a lack of follow-up. We often must be the bearers of bad news, informing a some-day business owner that she doesn't have enough money, or time, or a clear enough plan for success. These factors are not our fault, especially if we follow-through with our commitments to advise clients on a timely basis. But when things slip, that doubt can creep in. When the day grows long and the soul grows weary, please remember Teresa. Ask a colleague for help. Send a quick follow-up note, lest too much time goes by and commitments are forgotten. Never be too shy to say I'm sorry. I'll get back on this for you. As awkward as a minor memory lapse can make us feel, it doesn't compare with the pain of doubt, the pain of never knowing about what might have been. I always believe that something good can always come out of even the least desirable situations. Let Jonah's innocent mistake and Teresa's frustration serve as inspiration. We help people nurture their dreams into reality. That is a very special responsibility. You are not alone in fulfilling this duty, and never hesitate to call upon your fellow SBDC family members so that a dream never slips past our fingers. It really is that important. Like I said, I only know of one story like Teresa's story. Let's recommit ourselves to keep it that way. Thank you for your commitment and dedication. You are the best. # # # MY REPLY Dear. Mr. Escudero, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy day to meet with me regarding my issue with Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers of the SBDC. I thank you for taking the time to do the letter. I hope it enlightens the others of the SBDC. I also hope this kind of behavior never happens again. But, like I was saying in my complaint, and like I told Mike Bowers two years ago, and everyone else who I have been in contact with in the SBDC program. I am going to ask OHIO TAXPAYERS what should happen here regarding Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers, and what do I deserve for all of my loss? Jeff Shick knew how to do his job and how to help me with my patent and finding a manufacturer to license my gutter kit. He failed miserably. I am sure you know that meeting with you and getting a letter about how not to screw someone out of a patent, a manufacturing business, and a licensing agreement is not going to make me happy! I have lost every dream I have ever had, due to Jeff Shick and Mike Bowers. Mr. Escudero, when I came to the BVR and the SBDC 12 years ago there was never a statement from anyone there saying: I don't think this can happen, or No, I don't think so. It was all 100% forward, with the BVR backing me all the way. And once I started complaining about Jeff Shick, I should have known that it was all over with, but I kept going on and on with Jeff Shick and his promises for 12 years. All Jeff would have had to say was, Tom I can't do this. But he did not. He just lead me on for 12 years, knowing that he was not going to do this for me. Mr. Escudero, where is the accountability for his actions? I believe we should all be held accountable for our actions. I feel I have no other option but to contact an attorney and Channel 6 News, and any other News Stations that will air my story warning other hopeful inventors of what has happened to me with my patent and business at the hands of state employees. This way people can rethink doing business with state programs that should be helping them instead of leading them on for years and destroying their dreams. I simply want what is right, Jeff Shick held accountable. We all have life problems and we all deal with them and continue doing our jobs with responsibility! I am a very resourceful person and along with contacting an Attorney, I intend to also put my story on Facebook, You Tube, Linked-In, etc . All Comments Are Welcome : Can send copys of patent papers and the pics of my invention that was SUBMITED . Sincerely, Thomas Humble Newark, Ohio 43055 [email protected] Letter from C.T. Rowe 8990 Burke Lake Road Second Floor, Burke, VA 22015 (703)764-9850 www.asbdc-us.org August 20, 2015 Mr. Thomas Humble Newark, OH 43055 Mr. Humble, I apologize for the delay in my response. This is an extraordinarily busy time of year for me. I assure you I was not ignoring your letter but, I am afraid you will not be pleased with my response. I received your letter outlining your complaints with the service you received at the Ohio SBDC. While I understand your disappointment and frustration, this association does not manage or operate any SBDC. We are simply the association formed to represent the many SBDCs that operate nationwide. We organize their annual conference and other meetings but are not, in any way, in charge of their activities. Each SBDC is operated by its host institution according to a cooperative agreement with the US Small Business Administration. As such, I am not in a position to either respond to your allegations against the Ohio SBDC or offer you any sort of compensation. I did make some inquiries regarding your situation. I was informed that you were referred to certain other State of Ohio programs for assistance with your invention and patent, though I am not familiar with the outcome of those referrals. I also believe that many of the problems with your patent application should have been handled by your patent attorney, I understood from your letter that you had engaged one. Finally, I understand that the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Ohio investigated your complaint. That office found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the Ohio SBDC. Again, I understand your frustration and disappointment. However, I am in no position to assist you as the association has no authority over the management or operations of SBDCs. Sincerely, C. E. Rowe President Association of Small Business Development Centers Thank you for reading my story , Thomas Humble