Salt River Project celebrated the five-year anniversary of its online Business Resource Center, www.srpbizresource.com, a free resource offering business tools, seminars and expert advice, at a luncheon last week with community partners and entrepreneurs.

“We are grateful that SRP is investing in small business in Arizona because that builds a better state,” Kimber Lanning, founder of Local First Arizona, said. “Coming out of the recession was very difficult for Arizona. We really had to link arms as a community in order to fight back to where we were before. It taught us that we need to diversify our economy to be more resilient. The Business Resource Center really is a great resource for small businesses to learn about who is doing what in the community and how it can benefit them.”

SRP’s Business Resource Center continually evolves. New information and resources and free workshops are added regularly, based on the topics most requested by customers and businesses.

“The Business Resource Center was created when SRP joined forces with the Arizona Small Business Association, the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Arizona State University and Valley businesses to provide expert advice, success stories and other insights,” Alaina Chabrier, SRP associate general manager and chief communications executive, said. “Although our most important function is to deliver reliable, affordable water and power, supporting our business community and working to advance economic growth is who we are as a company.”