Wednesday briefing

Fall Business Expo is Thursday: The 12th annual Fall Business Expo will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Coastline Convention Center. The expo, presented by Crawlspace Concepts, will feature more than 50 exhibitors.

Admission and parking are free, and door prizes will be given away hourly. It's sponsored by the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce.

Mike Collins of The Perfect Workday Company will lead a free seminar on "Stress and Sanity in the Workplace" from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. that day at the convention center. He is a frequent business seminar presenter and author of business articles and four books, the chamber said. It's sponsored by the chamber and the Small Business Center at Cape Fear Community College. Seating is limited, so those wishing to attend must register online at: www.cfcc.edu/sbc or by calling 362-7216.

For information about the expo, contact Kathryn Freeman at 762-2611, ext. 212, or freeman@wilmingtonchamber.org.

Downtown shop offers natural alternative: Robert and Lora Kuzma have opened Thee Health Shoppe at 271 N. Front St. It serves protein smoothies and fresh-brewed teas, and it carries vitamins, herbs, bodybuilding supplements, natural remedies, aromatherapy, healthy snacks and drinks. It also offers natural beauty products, diet aids and healthy products for pets.

The Kuzmas have been using natural products for decades, according to a release from Wilmington Downtown Inc. A ribbon cutting will be at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

New home assistance company in town: Steve Marcum has opened an office of Caring Senior Service, a national personal assistance service company, at 311 Judges Road, Suite 8F. Shelly Hewett will serve as office administrator.

It's the company's second North Carolina office - another serves the Raleigh-Durham area - and 22nd nationwide. Caring Senior Service provides from four hours of care to 24-hour/seven-days-a-week care for clients at home.

Caring Senior Service, founded in 1991, provides personal, nonmedical services to the elderly and infirm. It has worked with clients whose conditions include Alzheimer's, diabetes, hospice care, stroke, cancer, cardiac disease and lung disease.

Call 395-5718 for more information.

SBA lenders target veterans: The N.C. District Office of the Small Business Administration says seven SBA lenders have agreed to provide veterans with preferential pricing terms on SBA guaranteed loans. The improvements range from reductions in interest rates to waiving SBA guaranty fees on certain types of loans.

They are: Aquesta Bank of Cornelius, Community West Bank of Raleigh, Fidelity Bank of Fuquay-Varina, Four Oaks Bank of Four Oaks, Surrey Bank & Trust of Mount Airy, Innovative Bank of Oakland, Calif., and Superior Financial Group of Walnut Creek, Calif.

Lending to North Carolina veterans dipped in fiscal 2006, with 165 loans for $24.2 million, down from 192 loans for $24.9 million in 2005. But such loans to veterans have grown significantly since 2002, when 66 loans were approved for a total of $12.5 million.

For more information, contact David Dillworth, SBA assistant district director for lender relations, at (704) 344-6578.

Feds have business Web site: A new federal government Web site, Business.gov, provides business owners with a one-stop place to search federal agencies that regulate or serve businesses for compliance information or resources. The site makes it easier to find information on taxes, immigration laws, workplace safety, environmental requirements and other regulations that affect small to midsize businesses.

The creators said Business.gov directs businesses to the best sources, reduces compliance barriers and helps avoid costly mistakes. Business.gov is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in partnership with 21 other federal agencies.

Companies with fewer than 500 employees represent 99.7 percent of all businesses, the SBA says. They spend 45 percent more per employee than larger companies to comply with federal regulations including taxes and environmental requirements, according to the SBA.

Onslow gets administration professional exam center: The Jacksonville-Onslow-Lejeune Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals is joining with Coastal Carolina Community College to bring an administrative professional Examination Center to CCCC's campus in May.

Certification programs from IAAP verify competencies needed in the workplace. IAAP offers two certifications, the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) designation and the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) rating.

Both cover finance and business law, office technology, administration, communications, behavioral science, human resource management and organizational management. The CAP exam also contains a section on organizational planning, including team skills, strategic planning and advanced administration.

To learn more, visit www.iaap-jol.org or www.iaap-hq.org.

Bring cans, save Thursday at State Fair: Food Lion is donating more than 2.4 tons of Food Lion canned products to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina as part of Food Lion Hunger Relief Day at the N.C. State Fair. In addition, fairgoers who bring four cans of Food Lion-brand products will receive free admission to the fair on Thursday. This is one of the largest single-day canned-food drives in the state. In 2005, approximately 185,000 pounds of food were collected.