Arnaldo Sehwerert

There”™s nothing like heading for the back roads for clearing your head and getting away from the pressures of the workday world. Â For Arnaldo Sehwerert, riding the winding two-lane highways of the Hudson River Valley has been an invaluable way to release tension and prepare for the week ahead ”“ or reflect on the week that was.

“My leisure rides can last anywhere between one to four hours,” says Cuban-born Sehwerert. After taking a motorcycle course at SUNY Ulster in 2002, he was ready for his first bike: a Yamaha Virago 920. “It was a first good ”˜learn to ride”™ bike,” says the executive business advisor and avid biker.

Last summer, he “moved up” to a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic and was ready to take to the open road in style.

“I love to ride on Saturday and Sunday mornings and usually ride along the water: the Rondout Reservoir and Ashokan Creek are among my favorites. It gives me a great deal of internal peace and a thrill to follow a creek, not knowing where it will end. More often than not, I”™ll find myself asking people where I am because I get lost a lot ”“ but that”™s part of the adventure.”

He tried to talk his wife, Lynn, into joining him, but “she is scared stiff. I”™ve tried to convince her, going so far as to buy her a helmet, but she wants no part of it.” The helmet went back, but luckily for Sehwerert, his wife encourages his favorite pastime.Â “Not that I need it, but it”™s nice to know she is not against me taking off for a few hours.”

When he”™s not on the back roads, you”™ll find Sehwerert behind his desk at the mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Kingston. Â Multilingual Sehwerert”™s territory covers Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Delaware and a portion of both Schorarie and Greene counties. The SBDC, housed in Kingston”™sÂ Business Resource Center, shares space with the Ulster County Economic Development Corp., the state Department of Labor, SUNY Ulster”™s continuing education program and the Ulster County Job Center.

The SBDC provides business counseling for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the mid-Hudson Valley. It also manages a portfolio of clients seeking advice on startups, expansions, funding and finances. The center is funded by the state Small Business Administration and SUNY Ulster. Sehwerert started with the SBDC in 2002 as a part-time counselor and was appointed regional director in 2003.

“We have ranked in the number-one spot for the past six years in economic impact and job creation,” says Sehwerert. “This year, we will probably end up in the number-two or three spot, but that is normal because of the excellent quality of the SBDC network in New York. Westchester has been working on some important projects which became a reality in 2007, and they will probably take the number-one spot. This is still good for us. If you take the lower and upper mid-Hudson as a region, we still produce more economic impact than any other region in the state.”

A small-business owner and entrepreneur while living in Venezuela before moving to the U.S. permanently in 2001, Sehewert feels more than capable when it comes to understanding Â the goals of entrepreneurs and those who are seeking to grow their business. “I”™ve been on both ends of the spectrum,” says Sehwerert. “People can walk in with an idea, and we can sit down and figure out pretty quickly if their dream is just that or has a solid foundation. We don”™t fool around. If someone has a great idea, we work with them to form a business plan and help them put the funding together. If it”™s just a pipe dream, we are straight with them and try to encourage them to make other plans.”

Sehewert lives in the town of Woodstock in the house his wife”™s father built. “Lynn and I met at SUNY New Paltz, so it”™s wonderful that we”™ve been able to keep the house in the family. Woodstock is a great place to call home. It can be extremely provincial, yet highly sophisticated and diverse. It”™s got a lot of personality, and it is recognized all over the world.”

After becoming a U.S. citizen in October 2006, Sehewert is more than interested in the political process and can”™t wait to exercise his opportunity to vote. Â He”™ll have his first opportunity in a local library election coming up after Labor Day. Â “It”™s a privilege to be able to take part in the process. I”™m amazed at how many people don”™t exercise their right to vote.”

Sewherert is also watching the presidential race with keen interest. Until he steps into the voting booth in November 2008, he can agonize over which candidate will ultimately get his vote as he winds the curves along the Ashokan.