MARY BALDASANO / PVT From right, Deb Simpson, president, Metropolitan Las Vegas; Sue Camp, Sierra Nevada Regional Gov., District 4 Director, Lane Parks; SIPV President, Claudette Crooks and District 1 Director, Sarah Walker display awards proudly. Advertisement

Soroptomist International Pahrump Valley (SIPV) hosted the annual District 1 meeting earlier this month.

It focused on Sierra Nevada Region (SNR) and Federation updates presented by Gov. Sue Camp as well as guest speakers Tom Axtell, general manager of Public Broadcasting System and Kathleen H. Close, visionary leader and founder of Micro-Business USA.

To emphasize the concepts of Southern Nevada clubs, the meeting was entitled 'GEES' (Going forward, Exploring your Inner Space, Energize, and Shining a light to brighten the World).

District 1 President Sarah Walker directed the meeting and kept everything moving along as well as providing guidance to clubs on procedural and administrative requirements.

Organizational issues were addressed to include timely submission of award nominations to district and region to ensure proper consideration.

However, clubs were reminded that the level of award available to nominees is based on the amount of donations made by the nominating club.

Another issue addressed was changes in IRS laws that now reflect the requirement for nonprofit organizations to include income and expenses in their IRS forms.

Region and District 1 awards were presented to SIPV, Greater Las Vegas, Las Vegas Valley and Metropolitan Las Vegas.

The SIPV club received awards for an increase in membership of four or more and a certificate of participation in the Women's Opportunity Award nomination process.

A presentation was included on the 40th annual Soroptimist International of the Americas convention held in Taipei. Attendees from Nevada included past Sierra Nevada Regional Gov. Poco Davis, Sierra Nevada Regional Gov. Sue Camp and governors and district directors from across the country.

The convention determined three keys to success were a culture of trust, fundraising and strategic planning.

Axtell was introduced and presented information on the new PBS. He said improvements include making it more of a public service media rather than just entertainment.

Axtell advised, "as a result of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, it was identified that Nevada ... did not have an emergency response plan, so we decided to add an emergency response system to our programming capabilities."

They include: digital emergency messaging, emergency assistance system to provide information on response actions, emergency response assets, data casting, and "those using antennas only need the converter box for receiving digital input, antennas may still work," said Axtell.

Also, a digital emergency alert systems, school disaster schematics, being a green construction company in the desert by using biodegradable products in the construction of their new building and participation in developing Nevada legislation to address the need for emergency response actions in 2001-2005.

There are now eight PBS channels, but access on DirecTV or Dish Network is very limited. The presentation reflected how PBS is becoming more of a factor in the Southern Nevada area (including Pahrump).

The last presentation was given by Close on "Small business loans that transform women's lives around the world."

Close stated that "women who have ideas for developing businesses even in the poorest countries of the world are prevented from doing so by the stringent rules on obtaining loans."

Women are able to open individual development accounts to become home and business owners.

The concept of micro-credit is to give small loans such as $10 to women to get the food she needs to feed her family, as well as give them the opportunity to grow their own for sale on the community market. The lowest loan amount in the U. S. is $500.

These sales provide the income to repay the loan, which is then recycled, and the loan amount can increase as she will be able to save money also for a down payment on a higher loan amount such as $20 -- and the cycle continues.

Close showed a video about a woman in Africa who had been divorced by her husband, and was left trying to feed her children with no income. The woman learned about Micro-Business USA from missionaries who visit the villages and applied for a $10 loan.

As a result of the loan, the woman was able to start her own business and watch it grow. With each loan, she would ask for a little more and pay it back quickly from profits. She is now greatly respected by villagers and a mentor to other women.

Loans are available through the Small Business Administration with 1 percent of the funds going to micro-credit and the rest of the funds going to men.

As part of the micro-business project, a financial literacy program has been initiated to teach financial responsibilities and the proper way to handle personal and family income. There are over 350 programs available to women in the U.S.

If you are considering starting your own business and need financial assistance or just want to learn more about micro-business loans, contact the SBA at 1-800-827-5722 (1-800-U-ASK-SBA), or via email at answerdesk@sba.gov.