Columbia small business owner Walt Rowen will join a group of small business owners from across the country in Washington, DC, on Sept. 12, where they will spend several days speaking about small businesses’ needs with Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chairwoman Mary Landrieu, staffers from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office, various other Congressional representatives and key White House officials.

Rowen is part of Small Business Majority’s network council—a group of small business owners from various industries across the nation who volunteer their time and entrepreneurial expertise to help Small Business Majority identify and address the biggest issues facing small businesses today. The group of 15 entrepreneurs will spend three days in the Capitol discussing a host of issues important to small business owners including healthcare reform, clean energy, access to capital, public lands, taxes and more.

“I hear politicians talk a lot about what small businesses need, and what will help us and what will hurt us. Unfortunately, they don’t always have their facts straight. I’m taking a few days off from running my business to go to Washington to make sure the folks running our country know exactly what small business owners like me need to not only survive in this economy, but to grow,” said Rowen, owner of Susquehanna Glass Co., a glass decorating business that specializes in personalized barware. “I plan on telling my representatives how important full implementation of the new healthcare law is, what I think about the various tax and budget proposals and what type of policies I’d like to see coming out of Washington to help Pennsylvania small businesses succeed.”