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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1998)
¡J in o R ity O c to b e r 7/1 99 8 • C a- Çortlanb <f>b»eruer » Minority Enterprise Development Week 1998 P re s id e n t C lin to n h a s d e s i g n a t e d th e w e e k o f S e p t e m b e r 2 0 th ro u g h S e p te m b e r 2 3 , 1998 a s " M in o rity E n te rp ris e D e v e l o p m e n t W e e k " to h o n o r o u r N a t i o n ’s m i n o r i t y - o w n e d b u s i n e s s e s . L o c a l l y , th e w e e k o f O c to b e r 4 th r o u g h O c to b e r H is p a n ic A m e ric a n , N a tiv e A m e r ic a n , A s ia n P a c if ic 10 h a s b e e n s e l e c t e d . T o c o m m e m o r a t e th e i m p o r t a n c e o f th i s w e e k , a c o m m i t t e e h a s b een fo rm ed , co m p o sed o f fa irs. T h e f o l lo w in g e n t r e p r e n e u r s w ill re c e iv e a M E D A w a rd at g o v e rn m e n t a n d p riv a te s e c to r i n d i v i d u a l s to p l a n f o r e v e n t s in r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e a n d th e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f * M r. L o u r d e s M . C a m a c h o , P re s id e n t o f T h e C a m a c h o O re g o n ’s m in o rity -o w n e d b u s in e s s c o m m u n ity . T h e a c tiv itie s p la n n e d fo r th is y e a r in c lu d e an A n n u a l A w a r d s L u n c h e o n to b e h e ld a t th e O r e g d h C o n v e n ti o n C e n t e r o n O c t o b ^ S J t h . A tr a d e f a i r w i l l a l s o b e h e l d a t th e C o n v e n ti o n C e n t e r o n t h e s a m e d a y . A t th e A w a r d s L u n c h e o n , w e p l a n to h o n o r s e v e r a l o f o u r s t a t e 's s u c c e s s f u l m i n o r ity e n t r e p r e n e u r s . T h e s e i n d i v id u a ls w ill b e re c o g n iz e d fo r th e ir s u c c e s s fu l b u s in e s s d e v e l o p m e n t a n d th e c o n t r i b u tio n s th a t th e s e in d iv id u a ls h a v e m a d e to t h e i r c o m m u n i tie s . T h e n o m in a te d firm s re c o g n i z e d a t th e A n n u a l A w a r d s lu n c h e o n a re a t le a s t 5 1 % o w n ed an d o p e ra te d by a s o c ia lly d is a d v a n ta g e d i n d i v i d u a l ( s ) t h a t is a m e m b e r o f o n e o f th e f o l l o w i n g e t h n i c g ro u p s : A fric a n A m e ric a n , A m e ric a n o r S u b -C o n tin e n t A s i a n A m e r i c a n . In a d d i t i o n , th e f i r m s a r e in a s a t i s f a c t o r y fin a n c ia l c o n d itio n a n d h a v e a g o o d r e c o r d o f s e r v i c e in th e c o m m u n ity o r c h a r ita b le a f the luncheon: G ro u p . In c , * M s . A n n ie C h o i, P r e s i d e n t o f E v e r C le a n M a in te n a n c e » M r. L u is C o r i a , P r e s i d e n t o f C o ria C o n tr a c tin g * M s. J o a n B ro w n -K lin e , P re s id e n t o f B r o w ^ K lin e & C om pany * M r. J a m e s ^ S to tts , P r e s i d e n t o f P u g e t P la s tic s C o rp o ra tio n O th e r s p e c ia l re c o g n itio n a w a r d s w il l b e g r a n t e d d u r i n g th e c e re m o n y . The s e le c te d k e y n o te s p e a k e r a t th e A n n u a l A w a r d s l u n c h e o n w il l b e S t a t e R e p r e s e n ta tiv e M a r g a re t C a rte r. O f f i c i a l c e r e m o n i e s w il l b e g i n a t 1 1 :3 0 a n d c o n t i n u e u n t i l 1 :3 0 PM . T h is y e a r ’s th e m e w il l b e " M i n o r i t y B u s in e s s e s C o m p e t in g in A C h a n g i n g G lo b a l E n v ir o n m e n t.” F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , c o n t a c t Z a id a K le m a t ( 5 0 3 ) 2 4 5 - 9253. business William Daley: U.S. Secretary o f Commerce on Minority Business Week W hen it comes to prom oting m inor ity business. President Clinton and I are on the sam e page. Fifteen months ago, the President opened a race dialogue. His goal: to build one America for the new century. 1 challenge everyone to jo in the Presi dent in answering that call. A s Com m erce Secretary, I want to w ork with corporate A m erica to create a m ore diverse workforce. A nd I will be discussing this m ore and m ore with CEOs. Lom e Browning in P e n n s y lv a n ia w as m aking dried snacks in her ow n kitchen. She decided toexpand her business. But she needed help in setting up a manufacturing plant. So she con tacted our manufacturing center. W e helped with the design. W e helped her get financing. .And today, she has a staff every natural advantage it has like using M ark M cG w ire or Sam m y Sosa as a pinch hitter - so does a business. O ur diversity gives us a great advantage in the global marketplace. For exam ple, our population shares a cultural heritage and languages with every nation in the world. These links can be the determ in ing factor in a deal being done. W ho better know s the m arkets in so m any parts o f the w orld than m inority businesses? world - just as a Fortune 100 com pany, with a massive distribution system does. A t Com m erce, we know that the A m erican econom y can only continue to grow if all sectors o f the business com m unity prosper. A nd no one is left o f five and is producing not 25 pounds per day, but 225. This is a 1,000 percent increase. Third, we have ocean resource pro grams atConunerce. O neoftheirprojects is working with m inority entrepreneurs on a fish farming initiative. The w orld wide dem and for fish as a source o f protein is soaring. But ournatural supply is diminishing. Six states are developing proposals for an inner-city fish farming program. Fourth, w e have export assistance centers. O ver 12 million A m ericans ow e their high-paying jo b s to exports and since President Clinton has been in of fice, one-third o f our econom ic growth has com e from exports. Consider this: only four percent ofthe w orld’s custom ers are in the United States. That m eans 96 percent are lo cated outside our borders. A nd. iust as a ball team needs to use to leave hom e if you have a computer. Today, a small business anyw here in .America can sell its products around the F behind. O ne w ay to m ake this happen is to bring m ore minority com panies into the econom ic mainstream. A nd we are com m itted to doing that. A s part o f that \ comm itment, I have som e news. First, w e have taken a giant step tow ard creat ing a M inority B u s in e s s R o u n d ta b le . T hisw ouldbe sim ilar to the William Daley, US Secretary of Commerce. “A man o f rare effectiveness. He embodies the values o f hard work and fair play, faith and family. ” I have just returned from Africa, that is a m arket o f 800 million people, which Is really untapped by A m erican com pa nies. 1 announced that in the next two years w e hope to double the num ber o f Com m erce trade specialists in Africa and triple the num ber ofcountries where w e have offices. These people will be there to help you enter the African m ar ket. I will lead a Presidential trade m is sion there in December. M any A m eri can business leaders o f African descent have expressed interest, and I thank you. Hispanic-ow ned businesses should have a tremendous advantage in these markets. A nd Asia where Am ericans o f A sian descent should have an edge. The point is once that first export sale has been m ade, you have to look for opportunities around the world. That will strengthen our over-all economy. W hat is really rem arkable today is that to sell overseas, you d o n ’t have to leave the country. Y ou don’t even have A B u s in e s s R o u n d ta b le , w here C EO s com e together, network, and discuss com m on problems. In July, w e aw arded the Joint C enter on Political and Economic Studiesagrant. T hey will develop apian for a sel f-sustaining orga nization. W ehopetohavethe Roundtable in place by this time next year. A nd we expect it will quickly becom e a major voice for minority business interests. A s Secretary, I have the opportunity to talk to a lot o f business people across the nation. A nd even in these days o f crazy stock market swings, 1 tell them this is a good tim e to be in business in America. Since President C linton took office, over 16 million new jobs have been created. W e have the low est Afri can A m erican and Hispanic unem ploy m ent on record - although it is still too high. W e have the first budget surplus since Neil A rmstrong w alked on the m oon 29 years ago. A nd the lowest inflation in 32 years.That is very differ ent from our global partners. O ne quar- terofthe w orld’s economies are in reces sion or declining growth. A n d I tell small business owners there are a lot o f tax-payer supported services they could take advantage of. W hat strikes m e w hen 1 am talking to them is this: m ost o f them know about one, maybe two, governm ent programs that can help them. B ut very few know about the bioad range o f federal resources that are out there. In fact, they m ay be the best kept secret in W ashington - a to w n that doesn ’ t have m any secrets! W illiam D aley w as confirm ed by the U nited States Senate as the 32nd Secre tary o f C om m erce. President Clinton said in nom inating him , he is “a m an o f rare effectiveness. He em bodies the val ues o f hard w ork and fair play, faith and fam ily " A s Secretary, he oversees a D epartm ent w ith 33,000 people and a budget o f alm ost $5 billion. The Depart m ent prom otes A m erican businesses, m aintains A m erica’s econom ic statis tics, conducts the census, issues patents and trademarks, sets industrial standards, conducts oceanic research, and fore casts the weather. In addition. Secretary D aley advises President C linton on all matters concerning commerce, he is busi nesses ’ strong voice in the Cabinet, and a m em ber o f the President’s economic We su p p ort M inority B u sin ess E n te r p r ise Week. M ore a n d m o re o f t o d a y 's b u s i n e s s e s a r e o w n e d a n d o p e r a t e d b y m i n o r i t i e s a n d w om en. B ank o f A m e ric a h a s e x p e r i e n c e d p r o f e s s i o n a l s w ith t h e r e s o u r c e s a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g i t t a k e s t o m ake t h o s e b u s i n e s s e s w o rk . From b u s i n e s s l o a n s a n d p a y r o l l s e r v i c e s t o c r e d i t c a r d p r o c e s s i n g , w e 'r e t h e r e fo r you. put your business in motion m Bank of America O 1998 Bank of America Member FDIC An equal opportunity lender w w w .b a n k a m e ric a .c o m
