Jennifer Eltinge, Santa Ana District 2013 Financial Services Champion
The U.S. Small Business Administration is pleased to announce Jennifer Eltinge, Vice President and Regional Sales Manager for Comerica Bank has been selected as the Santa Ana District 2013 Financial Services Champion of the Year. She was nominated for the award by Matt Davis, President of Southland Economic Development Corporation. According to District Director Adalberto Quijada,
“Jennifer’s support of small business began as a franchisee herself some 30 years ago and continues to this day.
Ms. Eltinge has been a small business advocate for over thirty years, having served as a small business lender, business development officer, executive board member of non-profit organizations, and as a small business multiple franchise owner and entrepreneur. After Jennifer graduated from UCLA, she went through a series of franchise training programs before beginning the ground up construction on her first franchise location with Conroy’s Florists in Orange County. She financed the construction costs with an SBA 7(a) guaranteed loan which resulted in the creation of new employment opportunities and ultimately led to the acquisition of other franchise locations in Los Angeles County. She was then recruited by the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Imperial Bank to increase small business lending in Southern California. Her unique experiences in owning and operating her own company have helped her relate to small business clients and become an award winning SBA Business Development Officer year after year.
Jennifer used her creativity and experience to help structure an SBA 504 loan for A.M.A. Plastics last year which resulted in the creation of 185 new jobs. This was a $12.3MM project for an injection molding company that included the purchase and improvements of the real estate and acquisition of equipment. In 2012, she funded $32 million in SBA 504 first trust deeds and 7(a) loans.
An active leader in the community, Jennifer has volunteered for the Christmas in April program, served as a founding member of the Trabuco Canyon Chapter of the National Charity League, as Treasurer for the International Baccalaureate Program at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, as a board member of Rebuilding Together Orange County, a member of the California and Arizona CRA Committees, and as board member of the Asian Pacific Initiative. This year she was elected as Board Chairman for Southland Economic Development Corporation.
