ENTERPRISE — Blue Mountain Community College’s Small Business Development Center hired two new business advisors for its Wallowa County location.

Kristy Athens and Dennis Sands began work in the center’s Enterprise office earlier this month, according to the announcement from the college. The center’s business advisors provide confidential one-on-one advising to small business owners at all stages of business development. Athens has a master’s degree in food systems and society from Marylhurst University, and is the author of “Get Your Pitchfork On!: The Real Dirt on Country Living.” She has been a freelance writer, editor and project manager for more than two decades. Her areas of expertise include start-up businesses, public relations, traditional and online marketing, and alternative financing.

“Wallowa County is a very special place that requires people to be flexible and creative in order to find success,” Athens said in the written statement. “I love helping others formulate a plan to make a life here.”

Sands worked for 42 years in sales and owned several small businesses, including a business brokerage where he assisted small business owners with purchasing and selling businesses.

“I love small business owners,” Sands said in the announcement. “It is a tough, but rewarding career, and I think helping an owner succeed is a reward in itself.”

The center is in the Wallowa Resources building, 401 N.E. First St., Suite. 13, Enterprise. To schedule an appointment or for more information, please call 541-278-5864 or e-mail sbdc@bluecc.edu.