QUICK TAKES

U.S. BANK HONOR: Azurede Alazaus-Jenkins has been honored with a U.S. Bank Five Star Volunteer Award for exceptional volunteer service, and the American Cancer Society has received $500 as a result.

The U.S. Bank Five Star Volunteer Award honors 143 U.S. Bank employees across 27 states for exceptional volunteer service in their communities this year. U.S. Bank is making a donation to the nonprofit organizations where they volunteer in their honor.

Alazaus-Jenkins is a universal banker at U.S. Bank in Hopedale. Through her volunteer work with the American Cancer Society, she served as a captain on a Relay for Life team to raise money for Harrison County cancer research and development. She raised more than $6,500 for the cause.

U.S. Bank received the highest rating possible from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 2006, the most recent evaluation period, for its commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act.

STEPTOE & CHAMBER:

Patrick D. Kelly, managing member of the Charleston office of the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, has been elected to the board of directors of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce for 2010. Kelly joins Robert M. Steptoe Jr., chairman of the firm, who also serves on the board and executive committee of the chamber.

Many lawyers and professional staff members of the firm are actively involved with the chamber and serve on committees including civil justice reform, education, health care, human resources, workers' and unemployment compensation, economic development, small business, safety and health, government relations, energy, taxation, environmental and technology, tourism, transportation and timber and wood products.

Out of these committees, three of the firm's attorneys will serve in leadership roles. Henry C. Bowen will chair the workers' compensation and unemployment compensation committee; Carolyn A. Wade will serve as vice chair for the human resources committee; and Walter L. Williams will serve as vice chair of the health care committee.

CIC MEETS: Irene Moore, administrator of the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, will speak to the Community Improvement Corp. Board of Trustees during its meeting Oct. 20 in the Toronto Municipal Building, 416 Clark St.

The meeting, to be held in City Council chambers, will start at 3:30 p.m. Moore will brief the board on the economic impact of agriculture in Jefferson County.

The Nov. 17 CIC meeting, hosted by Jefferson County government, will be held at the Job and Family Services office on South Fifth Street in Steubenville. The Dec. 15 session will be held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Building on North Fourth Street.

(Send news items or photographs for inclusion in the Sunday Business section to Paul Giannamore, Business Editor, 401 Herald Square, Steubenville, OH 43952; or fax to (740) 284-7355 or via e-mail at pgiannamore@heraldstaronline.com. We cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Questions? Call Giannamore at (740) 283-4711, ext. 357.)

SBA seeks W.Va. award nominees

CHARLESTON - The Small Business Administration's West Virginia office is seeking nominees for its 2010 Small Business Person and Champions of the Year awards.

The winners will represent the state during regional and national competitions and will be honored at the annual West Virginia Small Business Celebration scheduled for late spring.

National Small Business Week will be celebrated May 23 through May 25 with entrepreneurs from all 50 states and national champions to be honored at SBA events.

Small Business Champion awards are made to individuals or organizations dedicated to supporting small businesses. Champions may or may not be small business owners. The award categories include: Small Business Person; Small Business Exporter; SBA Young Entrepreneur (under age 30); Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business; Entrepreneurial Success; Financial Services Champion; Home-based Business Champion; Minority Small Business Champion; Veteran Small Business Champion; and Women in Business Champion.

The deadline for nominations is Nov. 30. Small Business Week nomination guidelines and associated forms can be found on the SBA's West Virginia District Office Web page at www.sba.gov/wv (under the Spotlight section) or by contacting the West Virginia Development Office at (800) 767-8052 extension 8 or by e-mail to wvinfo@sba.gov).

Progress Alliance joins partnership

STEUBENVILLE - Progress Alliance, Jefferson County's public-private economic development organization, officially will join a recently-formed nine-county partnership on Oct. 20.

The partnership was launched by the Muskingum County Business Incubator's Regional Incubator for Entrepreneurs, based in Zanesville. Counties involved include Coshocton, Harrison, Jefferson, Muskingum, Guernsey, Belmont, Morgan, Noble and Monroe.

The partnership provides a unique opportunity to reach small businesses and entrepreneurs of the region, according to Ed Looman, Progress Alliance executive director.

Through the partnership, MCBI has created hubs in each of the counties.

The hub is promoted as the point-of-contact in each county for business services.

Progress Alliance will become the hub in Jefferson County.

Regional economic forum date set

STEUBENVILLE - The second Regional Economic Outlook Forum, sponsored by Progress Alliance, the Downtown Weirton Business Association, Valley Ventures and the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, will begin at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 10 at the IBEW Local 246 Building, 626 N. Fourth St. in downtown Steubenville.

Best of County nominations available

STEUBENVILLE - Progress Alliance is accepting nominees for 2010 Best of Jefferson County awards. Those selected will be honored during the second annual best of the county awards dinner scheduled for March.

Nomination forms now are available on the organization's Web site, www.theburb.org, and also may be obtained at the Progress Alliance office, 630 Market St. in downtown Steubenville.

New Zealand firm focuses on Iraq

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A company from New Zealand says it wants to spend $100 million to build a housing development in Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

Atconz Real Estate Development said it plans to build the residential project just to the north of the regional capital Irbil.

Plans for the ''New Azadi'' project call for the creation of 1,565 houses ranging from modest, low-income homes to luxury villas.

The project, announced at Dubai's Cityscape property expo, also envisions schools, a hotel, a supermarket and other facilities.

It says it has the backing of Kurdish authorities, who oversee a semiautonomous region in the north but maintain tense relations with the central government in Baghdad.

Economy slows mobile tech growth

GENEVA - The telecommunications industry has escaped the worst of the global economic downturn but a lack of funding is slowing the rollout of next-generation mobile networks, a U.N. report said.

Governments should consider investing some of their stimulus funds in cell phone networks, fiber-optic connections and broadband infrastructure as part of an effort to boost the wider economy, the International Telecommunication Union said in a 90-page report.

The financial crisis has ''cut directly across many operators' investment plans to upgrade existing networks and roll out various next-generation networks,'' the ITU said.

Telecoms companies are also struggling with the long-running problem of regulatory uncertainty because governments are slow to approve technical innovations for widespread use.

At a time of funding shortages, this means companies have become even more cautious about investing in new technology, the report said.

From staff and wire reports