SCORE Charlotte intake team honored in matching potential new client needs with one of the chapters 72 volunteers 

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The first contact of a new potential SCORE Charlotte client seeking assistance in opening or expanding a business or general guidance is normally made by one of five dedicated members of the organization’s Intake Team. 

Headed by Robert “Bob” Kunkle, Vice President of SCORE Charlotte and head of the Intake Team, the team maximizes the chapter’s responsiveness by matching a potential client’s needs with the qualifications of one of SCORE Charlotte’s 72 volunteers, half of whom work full-time. Kunkle has been a member of the team since he joined SCORE Charlotte in 2016. 

Normally, a potential SCORE Client needs assistance in opening or expanding a business or just needs to talk to a volunteer to make sure he or she is headed in the right direction. After an initial meeting, a plan of action for the client is determined. 

According to Barbara Brill, SCORE Charlotte President, in 2022 the five Intake Team members commitment and expertise was the first step in the Chapter providing 5,345 hours of unique team member mentoring sessions that resulted in the creation of 688 new jobs within the 14 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties the organization represents.* 

For their efforts, dedication and many hours of service, Intake Team members were honored by SCORE Charlotte for their collective commitment to excellence in serving the large volume of mentor requests with professionalism and compassion. The awards were presented at the organization’s recent annual awards meeting and banquet in Charlotte, NC. 

Besides Kunkle, team members honored include Michael Harris of the Ballentyne area of Charlotte, NC; Andrew Swanson of South Charlotte; Michael Marks of Lake Wylie, SC, and Chip Breeden of Denver, NC. Kunkle is a resident of South Charlotte near Pineville. 

“Since COVID, after initial contact with an Intake Team Member normally using a video service such as Zoom, the potential and new SCORE Charlotte client is matched with a SCORE volunteer,” noted Brill. “Future meetings are also normally conducted by video as well as free and low cost workshops such as Simple Steps for Starting Your Business and numerous problem-solving seminars. Using video services after COVID required major adjustments in how SCORE Charlotte normally conducted business.” 

*These figures are provided annually by PriceWaterhouse Coopers 

A volunteer organization consisting of 72 active, retired or semi-retired men and women, SCORE Charlotte was formed in 1965 as the 47th Chapter of SCORE National based in Hendron, VA, a suburb of Washington, D. C. A resource partner of the SBA (Small Business Administration), it is one of 320 chapters nationwide with over 11,000 Certified SCORE Members. 

Bob Kunkle, Vice President and Head of the Intake Team 

A native of Mongomery County, PA, Kunkle joined SCORE Charlotte in 2016 after a 50 plus year business career including 30 years with IBM in various positions in sales/marketing and product development. Locations where he served with IBM include Charlotteville, VA; Endicott, NY; and Charlotte, NC. 

He also spent 10-years with Wells Fargo in Charlotte where he was part of a management team in their Wholesale Technology Services Risk Management Group. 

Additional experience includes business partnerships, building software sales and client management in technology consulting. 

Kunkle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. 

Michael Harris, Intake Team Member 

A native of Pottesatway, N. J., Harris joined SCORE Charlotte in 2018 after a 40-year professional career. He began his career with MET Electrical Engineering in Baltimore, MD. This was followed by work as a research scientist at EXXON in Houston, TX where he helped develop software and data testing programs for the company’s exploratory and logistical application team. 

He moved to Charlotte, NC in 1987 as a management consultant for CTG (Computer Task Group) and Crew Chief and later Chief, Data Modeling & Administration for the U. S. Census Bureau. After that, he formed hs own company in which he served as Chief of Modeling & Administration which developed and implemented database designs across a wide range of industries. 

Harris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management science from the Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, OH and a Master of Arts degree in economics from Case 

Western University in Cleveland. He has also taken numerous graduate study courses in economics and computer science and many continuing education seminars. Case Western University has, since he attended, merged with Case Institute of Technology. 

Andrew Swanson, Intake Team Member 

A native of Melborne, Australia, Swanson joined SCORE Charlotte in 2015 after a decades-long professional career in market, strategy and consulting to the global chemical industry. This included project management for consulting assignments with Chem Systems, IBM and IHS Chemical. 

Management roles included positions at Nalco Chemical in Chicago, IL and the ICI Group in Australia and Great Britain—both global chemical companies– in research, production, corporate planning and general management. 

Swanson received a Bachelors Degree in physical chemistry from Melborne University in Parkville Victoria, Australia and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in inorganic chemistry from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. He also received a Business Adminstration degree from Melborne University. 

Michael Marks, Intake Team Member 

Marks joined SCORE Charlotte in 1999 after over 40-years experience in professional services and the sporting goods retail business. He is also past chairman of the Family Business Center Board of Directors for the National Buying Sporting Goods Association. 

Marks received a Bachelors Degree in marketing and management from the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 

Chip Breeden, Intake Team Member 

A native of Fredericksburg, VA, Breeden joined SCORE Charlotte in 2018 after a 48-year career in the telecomunications industry beginning with Western Electric in Richmond, VA and ending with Nokia in Charlotte, NC. 

He held varied positions from an industrial engineer when he began his career in 1973 in 

Richmond, VA to staff positions and eventually management positions in various factories throughtout the US where communications equipment at various levels was manufactured. 

Locations where he served included staff positions with an integrated circuit factory in Allentown, PA; a staff position at Bridgetown, NJ; a staff position with integrated data links in Reading, PA; Tridon satellite dishes in Atlanta, GA; engineering switching equipment in Columbus, OH; and for the last 12 years a trouble shooting management positions in Charlotte, NC as well as other plant locations. 

Although he worked for the same company, besides Western Electric’s AT &T subsidiary, mergers and acquisitions resulted his working for the Tridom subsidiary of AT & T, Lucent, Alcatel and Nokia at the end of his career. 

Breeden received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA and a Masters of Science degree in operations research from Leigh University in Bethlehem, PA. At Leigh University, he attended classes and also worked at 

research centers in an apprenticeship type program at the Western Electric research center in Princeton, NJ and facilities in Bethlehem, PA, Hopewell, NJ and Burlington, NC. 

About SCORE Charlotte 

SCORE Charlotte serves clients in 13 counties in North Carolina (Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland, Cabarrus, Stanly, Lincoln, Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander, Iredell, Rowan, Union and 

Anson) and three counties in South Carolina (York, Chester and Lancaster). 

Overall in 2022, 1,540 men and women were served in over 2,700 sessions who wanted to expand or start a new business. SCORE Charlotte also sponsored 77 local in-person workshops attended by over 1,400 local men and women and with clients viewing over 580 national webinars attended by over 1,200 attendees from the counties it serves in North and South Carolina. 

Besides free mentoring, SCORE Charlotte members serve as SCORE Ambassadors and participate as speakers at business trade shows and events in the Charlotte Region. SCORE 

Charlotte also sponsors free and low-cost workshops such as Simple Steps for Starting Your 

Business throughout the year and sponsors numerous problem-solving seminars on how to start a business or deal with business growth. 

SCORE chapters are located throughout the country, with nine in North Carolina. Sponsored by the SBA, SCORE is comprised of volunteers (some active in business) who mentor small business owners across a variety of business disciplines. Like all SBA partners, SCORE counseling is offered free of charge. 

Small businesses that want to talk or be assigned a SCORE Charlotte mentor can do so by downloading a “Mentor Request Form” found on our web sites www.Charlotte.SCORE.org or www.sco re.org. 

For more information on SCORE Charlotte services or to volunteer as a mentor, go to www.Charlotte.Score.org, call 704-344-6576 or e-mail [email protected].