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Brooklyn-Based Businesswoman Wins 2 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year' Awards

Willimantic, CT (05/06/2019) — Eastern Connecticut State University graduate LaToya Smith has been named "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the New York Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

The SBDC recognized Smith at its annual awards dinner on April 30 in Ithaca, NY. The SBA ceremony will take place on May 7 at the Microsoft Technology Center in New York City.

Smith is the CEO and founder of Brass City Media, Inc., located in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated magna cum laude from Eastern in 2006, earning her Bachelor of Science in Communication and Bachelor of Arts in History. Smith received a Master of Science in Journalism from Boston University in 2008.

"My undergraduate experience at Eastern helped shape my career and professional life," said Smith. "I will forever be grateful for the knowledge and skills that I learned from my professors and my former employers in the offices of Financial Aid and University Relations, and in the Department of History. I'm incredibly blessed to have such a huge community of love and support."

"These two SBA and the SBDC Young Entrepreneur Awards being presented to LaToya are the result of her business vision, dedication and focus, along with her ability to incorporate the resources and experts that have helped her to take her business to the next level," said Lizbeth Rodriguez, SBDC business advisor. "As her business advisor, I am so very proud of this top-of-the-line, well-deserved recognition for LaToya."

"This truly is an honor," said Smith. "SBA has been an incredible resource to me. My SCORE ("Service Corps of Retired Executives") mentors helped me incorporate my business and have been with me every step of the way. SBDC helped me refocus my business and expand it beyond a service-based business."

SBA and SBDC's "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" award "recognizes business owners under age 40 who have demonstrated a substantiated history as an established business that fosters local economies by creating job opportunities; has shown an increase in sales, net profit, and/or net worth for the three prior calendar years; and supports their neighborhood through community-oriented projects."

"LaToya has shown remarkable growth and ingenuity in delivering her products or services," said Beth Goldberg, SBA New York district director. "She has taken all that she learned as a journalist and in building her own brand, helped other entrepreneurs tell their stories more effectively."

A native of Waterbury, CT, Smith is launching a new platform this fall as a direct result of the guidance of her SBDC business advisor and the SBA. "With SBA and SBDC's support, I hope to reach profitable new markets that will ensure the growth of my company. Equally as important is their advice, which has unleashed excellent, new ideas that will help me carry out a plan on which I place very high value-making wise investments to better increase employment opportunities in the community."

Smith has used SBA's free live webinars, on-demand trainings and in-person events to improve her business finances, marketing, sales and operations. She also worked with the Local Development Corporation of East New York (LDCENY), a city agency under SBA, to receive her Minority and Woman Business Enterprise Certification (M/WBE), which provides increased access to government contracting opportunities.

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Based in Brooklyn, NY, Brass City Media, Inc. (BMC) is a storytelling agency founded in 2014 by award-winning journalist LaToya Smith. BCM is 100 percent woman and minority-owned, certified with New York City, New York State and the Port Authority of NY/NJ.

BCM's mission is to tell stories that ignite change, educate, and inspire people to take action. BCM provides video production, video editing, script writing, and on-camera media training. BCM helps its clients conquer their video marketing fears, develop a goal-driven video SEO strategy and provide storytelling training so clients feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera.

BCM has filmed, produced and edited more than 300 videos for clients across a variety of industries including global investment banking and wealth management firms, tax and accounting firms, healthcare and software companies.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving 5,200 students annually at its Willimantic campus and satellite locations. In addition to attracting students from 160 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 33 other states and 80 other countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in an array of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 30 public universities in the North Region by U.S. News and World Report in its 2019 Best College ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review nine years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

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LaToya Smith (left) was named "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by the New York Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

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