ColaDaily.com
By Kelly Petty
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO has been selected to serve on a regional board to assist owners with compliance issues. The Small Business Administration selected Frank Knapp Jr. to serve on the Region IV Regulatory Fairness Board.
“As a small-business owner for more than 20 years and co-founder of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Knapp understands small business, what is required to grow a business, create jobs and be a strong advocate for other local small business owners,” said Brian Castro, national ombudsman and assistant administrator for Regulatory Enforcement Fairness. “The members of the Regulatory Fairness Board play a critical role in making sure the voice of small business is heard by regulators and help to support regulatory solutions that save small business time and money.”
Knapp will join five other small-business owners to serve as a resource for owners to question or appeal federal regulatory enforcement and compliance actions. The board will contact Castro to report the concerns of owners and start the appeal process.
Region IV includes South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
“I’m very excited about it and it’s a great opportunity for small businesses to know that there are resources out there for small businesses that do find regulatory compliance difficult,” Knapp said.
Larger corporations typically are equipped with the employees necessary to meet regulatory and compliance actions, but smaller businesses lack the resources to do, Knapp said. Knapp hopes to ensure small-business owners are aware of the avenues to deal with federal regulatory guidelines.
“Small businesses have had some very good success and have had fines dramatically reduced,” Knapp said. “ We just have got to get out word.”
Knapp co-founded the 5,000-plus member S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce in 2000. He also serves on the advisory board for the South Carolina Small Business Development Center and was recognized by the Small Business Administration as the 2014 South Carolina Small Business Financing Advocate of the Year.
Knapp is the president of The Knapp Agency, a full service advertising/public relations firm that provides marketing services to locally owned small businesses.