![](media/image1.png){width="1.979861111111111in"
height="1.0083333333333333in"} ***News Release***

New York District Office

Release Date: August 3, 2007 Contact: John Miller (212) 264-7770

Release Number: 07-23 e-mail: john.miller@sba.gov

***It's a Wonderful Life for***

***Mid-Hudson Small Business Owner***

**Peekskill, NY**--- Extending and receiving salutations when he walks
through the historic downtown district of Peekskill, Larry DeNoia will
muse that he feels like George Bailey from the Frank Capra classic,
"It's a Wonderful Life." And based upon the relationships he's
developed, the devotion he has to his community and what he's done with
his business, he probably has every right to feel that way.

Born and raised in New York's Harlem and Bronx, DeNoia worked for a
number of years as a CPA in different firms in the city. But he tired of
the anti-climactic annual raises and the short-term nature of client
relationships. So he next tried his hand as a headhunter for a personnel
agency, making job placements for financial planners. "I came to
appreciate the forward-looking and relationship-building aspects of
financial planning, as compared to accountancy, which to me was a field
of looking back," said DeNoia. "That helped me decide to venture out on
my own as a certified financial planner and to also get paid what I
thought I was worth."

Moving from the city to the suburbs, and setting up shop in Peekskill as
ITI Strategies, Inc., DeNoia did well. He continued to grow his business
by purchasing an accounting firm in nearby Yorktown. Subsequently, about
two thirds of the company's business is derived from financial planning
while the remainder comes from accountancy and tax preparation.
According to DeNoia, "This business model works well for us because many
of our tax clients become clients for financial planning and vice versa.
And the best parts of the business for me are the long-term
relationships I develop with clients as well as the relationships that I
have with my partners and employees." The fact that the company has
grown to six employees and now manages more than \$100 million in
clients' investable assets can't hurt either.

DeNoia came to love the small-town atmosphere of the Peekskill area and
got involved in the rejuvenation of the city's historic downtown.
Looking to relocate his business and wanting to do his part in the
community's comeback, he set his eye on a downtown building that was
originally erected in 1852 as a law office. The structure had gone
through many permutations over the decades including housing a shoe
store, dentist's office, card store and cab company to name just a

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few. "I approached several banks looking for financing that would make
the buying and restoration of the building feasible, but I couldn't find
anything," said DeNoia. That's when he met Kathy Lockwood and Eric
Tejada of the Grow Peekskill Fund---an offshoot of the Grow America
Fund, and both of which are participating lenders of the U.S. Small
Business Administration.

With an SBA-guarantied loan of \$286,000 from the Fund and another
\$100,000 from New York State, DeNoia was able to make the purchase and
perform the renovations. In a tribute to the teamwork and optimism for
the company, two of his junior partners--- Daniel Giaimo and Joseph
Kelly--- also wanted to become vested in the purchase and signed on to
the loans.

With the funds the building was restored with many of its original
details. In becoming a downtown merchant DeNoia also became a local
fixture, establishing friendships and relationships with local business
owners and residents. Of his business, DeNoia said, "At a certain point
it became more than my job. I derive a lot of satisfaction in helping my
clients plan their futures." "And I knew it really became a business
when I realized I could go on an extended vacation and the business
could run without me," he added.

DeNoia, his wife, Barbara, and their three children reside in Mohegan
Lake. In addition to doing his part downtown, he's also engaged in many
community and charitable activities including volunteer work at
Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Shrub Oak, serving as treasurer for the
local Hope for Youth Foundation, and working on the board of directors
of the also-renovated Paramount Center for the Arts, the Peekskill
Rotary Club, and the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, to name
a few.

With all of those good will activities and the relationships they
generate, one can understand why DeNoia would feel like he's strolling
down the Bedford Falls boulevard of movie fame.

*More information about ITI, Inc. can be found at
[www.itistrategies.com](http://www.itistrategies.com/).*

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*All of the SBA's programs and services are provided to the public on a
non-discriminatory basis. For more information about the SBA please
visit [www.sba.gov/ny/ny](http://www.sba.gov/ny/ny).*