Summit Draws Deal Makers In Black Community

TUSKEGEE, AL -- Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Program will host the 15th Annual Booker T. Washington Economic Development Summit on September 15-17, 2010. Held at the TU Kellogg Conference Center the conference theme is: "Revitalizing Entrepreneurship and Procurement Opportunities in Small Towns and Rural Communities".

Key speakers include: George Curry, Renowned Speaker, Author and Moderator and Maggie Anderson, CEO, The Empowerment Experiment (www.EEforTomorrow.com)

The conference is designed to promote economic development through private enterprise with emphasis upon procurement opportunities for business owners, contractors, community-based organizations, small business development programs and HBCU's involved with community development.

Procurement officers will be on hand to actively engage and verbally exchange with conference attendees in areas that revolve around the creation of business initiatives with their respective corporate entity. Corporate organizations that have confirmed to have procurement representatives include: Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Johnson Controls, Gunter AFB Small Business Programs, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Veterans Administration Tuskegee AL, Tuskegee Utilities Board, South Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Small Business Administration 8A Development.

"My family is honored that the Cooperative Extension Program has enabled us to share our journey living off Black business with the Tuskegee University family. The Booker T. Washington Economic Development Summit is a homecoming for The Empowerment Experiment. Our stand is a testament to his messages of pride, honor, faith, intelligence and accountability," said Maggie Anderson, CEO and Founder, The Empowerment Experiment

The conference will highlight success stories of businesses, business programs and legislative initiatives that have been necessary for successful economic development.

Workshops in the area of business technical training will be available along with sessions that instruct attendees on how to pursue and engage funding opportunities. The BTW Entrepreneurial and Leadership Awards Banquet and the public policy breakfast are also key highlights. The conference is designed to inform, inspire and empower each small business and individual who attends.

"We believe that the BTW Economic Summit at Tuskegee University is an excellent venue to equip, enlighten, empower, and energize MBEs to position themselves to provide greater savings and higher quality goods and services to major corporations, educational institutions and governmental agencies," said Gloria Vail, Interim President/Certification Director, South Region Minority Supplier Minority Supplier Council.

Networking sessions facilitated by Visions TV Host Cedric Varner are designed to be interactive and build winning relationships which lead to new contacts and new contracts. "This conference will be exciting because it will provide one-on-one dialogue with decision makers to help our businesses. It is important what you know and who you know but also who knows you," said Varner

"The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of race." -- Booker T. Washington