Finley has helped many pursue their dreams

The Business News

TWO RIVERS — Tom Finley of Manitowoc has been a member of the Green Bay Chapter of SCORE since July 1992, and it's estimated that he's worked with 1,000 entrepreneurs since that time.

Finley also volunteers for things such as the Manitowoc County Lobster Fest and The Chamber of Manitowoc County Business Committee.

He enjoys helping others. "There is so much need, and all of us have something to give," Finley said.

Tom Finley is on a mission. He would like to put a spotlight on SCORE. "Although SCORE has been around since 1964, it is one of the world's best kept secrets," said Finley.

Last year he received a 15-year service award and a Platinum Leadership Award, one of the highest awards given by the national offices of SCORE.

He was cited for counseling an estimated 1,000 clients since starting the chapter. Finley manages the Two Rivers/Manitowoc branch of SCORE and developed the chapter website.

Finley worked for 22 years with Allis Chalmers in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Gadsden, Al. He started as an engineer and rose to a plant manager. He joined Paragon Electric Co. in Two Rivers as a vice president and worked in a variety of disciplines for more than 18 years until his retirement in 1990. After retirement, he started a "hobby business" doing general consulting until 2004.

SCORE, part of the Small Business Administration, is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business. The local SCORE office located at the Business Assistance Center at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

All services are free, and all counselors are volunteers, working with start-ups and existing business. There are eight chapters and 16 locations in Wisconsin.

The Green Bay Chapter holds three workshops a year and the Manitowoc branch holds one each year.

Nationwide there are 389 chapters with more than 10,500 volunteers. Over the years, SCORE has helped 8 million small businesses. Just last year, more than 357,000 counseling sessions were held and 49,000 workshops served 185,000 clients. There were 120,000 email clients who received help.

Manitowoc SCORE also partners with the Economic Development Corporation of Manitowoc County and Lakeshore Technical College to sponsor a program called E-Seed Entrepreneurs' Course. It is a 10-week course in which participants are guided through the process to develop a business plan.

"One role we play with budding entrepreneurs is to be sure they understand the risks involved before they put their funds at risk," Finley said. "After counseling a number realize that they are not ready while others are prepared to take the next step.

"In SCORE, we also offer mentoring," he said. "We often work with clients over a number of months as they work through problems they face in developing their business plan or running their business. These are often the most enjoyable and challenging experiences."

Finley said that it was a challenge to keep a SCORE presence alive in Manitowoc County since 1993.

"Manitowoc County was originally a SCORE Chapter location (minimum of 10 active members)," he said. "When I joined it was still listed as a chapter but in reality it only had one member. Within three months of joining that member was transferred out of town. Efforts to revive the Chapter were unsuccessful, so Manitowoc became a branch of Chapter 508 in Green Bay. Over the years, a few others have joined the branch but then dropped out. The branch now has three members."

Finley also helped organize a branch of Milwaukee SCORE in Sheboygan and he did counseling in Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Green Bay.

Besides his work with SCORE, Finley is active with Two Rivers Rotary, Manitowoc County Lobster Fest, The Chamber of Manitowoc County Business Committee, Private Investment Committee of the Economic Development Corporation of Manitowoc County, and he is a NEWREP Business Plan Competition judge. Finley also develops and maintains the web sites for various organizations with which he works.

In 2006, Finley was honored by the Chamber of Manitowoc County with the Tom Drill Volunteer Recognition Award.

Regarding his volunteer work, Finley was influenced by a quote he heard at Rotary, "Service is the price you pay for the space you occupy."

"I didn't always think of it that way," he said. "But somewhere along the line I felt it was important to share my time, talent and treasure, and I have never regretted the lesson.

"In my case, volunteering has a selfish motive. I want to be proud of the place I live, whether it be my home, my block, my city, county, state or nation. And, frankly, the world," Finley said. "When I look down our block and see all the lawns neatly cut and trimmed it gives me a good feeling. That good feeling took the effort and time of a lot of people and I was a very small part of that effort. So it is with my contribution in volunteering. It gets multiplied many times over when it is combined with what others do in the community."

For someone who isn't involved in volunteering, Finley says, "Try it, you just may like it. There is so much need and all of us have something to give."

Finley jokes that volunteering should come with a warning label that says: "WARNING: Volunteering can be addictive."

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