Hunt & Sons Memorials established in Danville with SBA 504 loan from Bloomfield State Bank and Indiana Statewide CDC

It's been a warm welcome to Hendricks County for Hunt & Sons Memorials in Danville. Matt Hunt says, "In the first year, we've done 50 percent more business than I anticipated." He says that people who are not customers have stopped in just to say hello. Hunt established Hunt and Sons Memorials with a U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan from Bloomfield State Bank and the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation. The loan helped him purchase the land and building for Hunt Memorials along East Main Street (old State Road 36) in Danville. Hunt operates Hunt & Sons Memorials with his wife, Lori, and their sons Bryce and Brandon. They sell and engrave cemetery monuments, limestone signs for sub-divisions and businesses, and boulders placed in front of homes. They also engrave brick pavers honoring benefactors to Hendricks County Hospital and Sheltering Wings -- 24-hour emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence -- and pavers for the Angel of Hope statue in Avon, a memorial for children who have died. Matt has been helping families select cemetery markers for more than 30 years, starting with his father's firm in Dugger, in Sullivan County. Hunt sold his share in that business to his brother when he moved to Hendricks County. Indiana Statewide CDC is the leading SBA 504 lender in Indiana. It works with local lenders to provide SBA 504 loans to owners of expanding companies. Congress created the SBA 504 program so owners of small businesses could get long-term, fixed rate financing with lower down payments similar to financing available for large companies. Since 1986, SBA 504 loans have funded more than $130 billion to 110,000 small businesses. In turn, those small firms have created or retained 2.5 million jobs for the U.S. economy. Executive Director Jean Wojtowicz says that the Indiana Statewide CDC and partner lenders have invested over $944 million in more than 980 Indiana companies since 1983, creating or saving 26,500 jobs. Dale Knotts of Bloomfield State Bank says, "SBA 504 loans help small family companies compete with the financial terms offered to large companies. The SBA 504 loans are also a good product for our bank because we can reach out to more small companies in our rural market area."