A Conversation With ... Walter Cowart

Company: U.S. Small Business Administration

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.

Solid experience: A 32-year SBA employee, Cowart has been at the Springfield branch office since it opened in 1981.

Contact: walter.cowart@sba.gov

What is your role with the U.S. Small Business Administration?

I am the chief advocate for the small-business community in the 28 counties serviced by this office, (which is a) branch of (SBA’s) Kansas City district office. ... There’s me and three other employees: Janice Bowman, Brent Jones and Rebecca Simmons.

What services does SBA provide?

Most people think of the SBA as a vehicle for businesses to get a business loan. (Backing loans) is the function we’re best known for, although it’s one of many the agency performs. We induce a bank to make a loan that the bank may not have made without a government guarantee. SBA does make some (direct) loans, but the loans we make nowadays are those made to businesses and individuals who have lost uninsured property because of a physical disaster such as a tornado or freeze. We have advocates for small business on local, statewide and national levels. We back surety bonds for small businesses that need them to perform a service or sell a product to a government entity. … We do many things, not the least of which is the free counseling given to people who need to know more about how to start a business or prepare a business plan, et cetera, by our volunteer SCORE counselors.

How did you come to work with SBA?

In the mid 1970s, the government had what was called a PACE exam, and I took this exam in New Orleans and ended up on some list. When they needed to fill (an SBA job) in Lubbock, Texas, my name cropped up from that list, and the district director had his aide call me. I was standing in the Cotton Exchange Building, looking out at the Mardi Gras Parade (in 1976) and she said, “Do you want to come to Lubbock, Texas, and interview to work for the Small Business Administration?” I said, “Two questions: What is the Small Business Administration, and where is Lubbock, Texas?” I was in Texas until May 1979, and then I moved to Kansas City with SBA. I moved to Springfield in April 1981.

You have frequently served as interim branch manager for the SBA. Last time, you said you wouldn’t apply for the permanent gig – how did you land the position?

I have been in this office since the day it opened, and we have had four branch managers since 1981. Between branch managers … I would be the acting branch manager, sometimes for 90 days, and the last time, for 15 months. For reasons I’m not fully aware of, the agency decided to reassign me to the position of branch manager officially (rather than posting the job for applications).

What challenges face area small businesses?

The businesses in this area are facing the same hurdles as businesses all over the United States. Cash flow problems in our area, fortunately, are not as great as some in (other) areas because of the tourism industry, which underpins southwest Missouri. (Tourism is) off too, but it’s not off as much as some other industries. One of the problems (for) a small business in southwest Missouri is that we are rural, by definition, and there has been, for years, a flight from smaller towns to the larger towns, which has resulted in a problem with small-town, small businesses retaining adequate sales.

What help can SBA offer those small-town businesses?

This year, SBA has come up with a new program, Rural Lenders Advantage. A bank qualifies for a loan under that program only if that bank has averaged less than 20 SBA-backed loans in the last three years. ... We’ve made it easier to get the government-guaranteed loan … so that the (smaller) banks are induced to make a loan to a small business. The Springfield branch office had the first RLA loan in the state, to a wellness clinic in Camdenton. We were four hours ahead of a loan made through the St. Louis office.

Tell us about your family.

My wife is Laura N. Cowart. She’s the administrative officer for the area conservationist for the (U.S. Department of Agriculture’s) Natural Resources Conservation Service. We have two daughters and a son … and a grandson. ... When I’m not working, I like to sit on my covered patio, visit with my wife, and drink wine.

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. You can e-mail her with suggestions for future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]