Nat'l Black Chamber Convenes Fall Meeting

WASHINGTON -- National Black Chamber of Commerce® will hold its Annual Fall Meeting at the Westin Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport November 11-13, 2010. The NBCC will address the need for jobs and economic opportunities and offer solutions through green certification, the NBCC procurement portal, a church empowerment program and improved effectiveness of the Small Business Administration.

The NBCC has formed partnerships to document the availability of green contractor training and certification for LEED and has identified the business opportunities for those trained and certified. The NBCC federal procurement portal is open for business and includes every bid available in 37 states and the history for RFPs, winning bids, and upcoming expirations. Sherrie Gilchrist, chairwoman of NBCC states that, "Businesses will be competitive like never before."

NBCC and Honorable Hector Barreto, former SBA Administrator and CEO of the Latino Coalition, have resolved to improve the outreach and effectiveness of the SBA by developing a "score card" on each district's activity and submitting it to the applicable congressional member for their review and action. Mr. Barreto will speak about this initiative at the NBCC meeting.

The new Church Chamber program will be unveiled. Two church empowerment programs, in Miami and Houston, are underway to assemble the business base of the membership and develop them into community pillars of entrepreneurship and jobs. These programs can be emulated across the nation. Additionally, Anthony Robinson will summarize our contractor testimony findings which demonstrate the pain that minority contractors endure just trying to do business in America.

The University of Southern California Black Student Union will give a dynamic presentation on how we can work together to increase economic empowerment in our communities and build a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and leaders.