ALBANY, N.Y. (May 21, 2003) -- Lt. Col. Howard Wildove, the University at Albany�s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Veteran�s Business Advisor, has been named the Veteran Small Business Advocate of the Year 2003 by the Small Business Administration.

Wildove, a disabled U.S. Air Force veteran, joined the University�s center as a Veteran�s Business Advisor in 2000. Since then, 525 veterans have obtained business assistance, accessed $7,747,766 in capital, and helped create or save 466 jobs. Wildove has counseled many disabled veterans as well as veteran inmates at the Mt. McGregor and the Coxsackie Correctional Facilities.

Immediately following the Sept. 11 tragedy, Wildove traveled to New York City to work with distressed small businesses. Other achievements include 23 years of military service, where he flew over 6,300 hours, including 42 combat missions over Vietnam.

The Small Business Development Center at the University at Albany offers no cost one-to-one counseling, assistance to start-up and existing businesses in developing strategic business plans, identification of appropriate sources of funding, market research, management information and financial analysis. Since its establishment in 1984, the SBDC has worked directly with 12,404 businesses, helping them invest more than $17 million in the area�s economy.