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OCT. 28,1998
Page A6
(The jJortlanfr (öbseruer
ess
Are J vou a Small Business
Owner
who
is
being
Threatened
. ....
__
.
H A three-day convention, focusing
on legal, political and business is
sues for small businesses
Are you a small business owner
who is being threatened with busi
ness closure ? Need advice on adver
tising for your small nightclub? Are
you struggling to stay in business? Is
your business insurance too costly?
Do you want to start a business in the
adult beverage industry?
Find out everything you need to
know about owning and running a
small business in the beverage and
spirits industry at the 1998 Califor
nia State Package Store and Tavern
Owners Association’s (CAL-PAC)
22nd Annual CAL-PAC State Asso
ciation Convention, November 3-5,
at the Radisson Hotel Los Angeles
Westside, 6161 Centinela Avenue,
Culver City, CA. Convention regis
tration is free for industry retailers
and tavern owners who register be
fore October 31st.
A three-day convention, focusing
on legal, political and business is-
sues for small businesses, this event
will bring together industry profes
sionals from corporations such as
Remy A m érique, S c h ie fflin &
Somerset, Budweiser, Miller, R.J.
Reynolds, Anheuser Bush,Stroh and
Beauchamp Distributing Company
to name a few.
Attorneys, consultants, corporate
executives, political leaders, and
businessowners will participate on
the workshops and educational pro
grams which are designed to address
current laws that are threatening the
survival o f liquor stores, tavern«
taverns and
and
nightclubs. This year, over 800 con
venience stores were forced out of
business throughout the U nited
States. In California, passage o f the
Caldera Act, a state nuisance law,
has granted state officials unfettered
discretion to arbitrarily punish small
retailers for “objectionable” actions
by unrelated third parties on public
sidewalks. Because o f such legisla
tion, retailers who are unable to po
lice public drunkenness or loitering
as far as 20 feet away from their
Toyota Appoints B.J. Ruffin National
Manager Of Export Operations
/ m excited about thechallenges
and opportunities o f such a high-
p rofile position
T oyota M otor Sales (T M S),
U .S .A ., Inc. has a p p o in te d
B.J.Ruffin, national manager, ex
port operations. In her new posi
tion, Ruffin is responsible for the
overall m anagement o f the ship
ment o f vehicles built in North
A merica to 16 export destinations
around the world. She manages a
staff responsible for export sales
adm inistration, financial analysis,
customer service, logistics, systems
and operational support.
Ruffin began her career with
Toyota in 1986. Prior to her pro
motion, she held the position o f
export logistics manager. During
her tenure wiwth Toyota, she has
held positions o f increasing respon
sibility. As project development
and adm inistration manager, she
was responsible for the develop
ment an implem entation o f a ve
hicle processing system for all
North America operations facili
ties. She also has held the position
o f manager o f non-A sia export op
erations.
“I’m excited about the challenges
and opportunities o f such a high-
profile position,” said Ruffin. “This
m ove fits in with my long-range
goal to become a high-level corpo
rate executive.” She says she sees a
bright future at Toyota because the
com pany is “em ployee-conscious”
and has established initiatives to
level the playing field for its em
ployees while offering supportive
training. The Carson, California
resident spent several weeks last
year in Japan as a participant in
T o yota’s m anager training pro
gram.
An Alabama native who grew up in
Cincinnati, Ruffin holds a bachelor’s
degree in business administration
management from Xavier University
in Cincinnati. She also has completed
a management program at the Marshall
Graduate School o f Business at the
University o f Southern California in
Los Angeles. She is a volunteer for the
los Angeles N. A. A.C.P. and a mentor
with the Toyota/Young Black Schol
ars Program, a partnership between
TMS and the 100 Black Men o f Los
Angeles Inc.
Ruffin is a member o f Faithful
Central Baptist Church, sings with the
gospel recording L.A. Mass Choir,
enjoys traveling, reading and playing
Scrabble. She knows her way around
a kitchen, and is the owner o f B.J.
Southern Ambrosia, a small catering
company.
/
»
by the central bank, which has been
trying to combat the drag ofeconomic
crises abroad.
The Dow now holds a respectable
gain o f 544 points, or 6.9 percent, for
the year, but still sits about900 points,
or 9.7 percent, below the July 17
record o f 9,337.97.
3M led the Dow decliners for a
second straight session after posting
disappointing third-quarter results,
falling 4 to 77 7/16.
Microsoft fell 3 5/8 to 106 3/8 to
lead the Nasdaq retreat after jumping
nearly 10 points during the prior two
sessions in an eamings-driven rally.
In other trading Friday, the Stan
dard & Poor’s 500 fell 7.81 to
1,070.67, and the technology-heavy
Nasdaq composite index fell 8.78 to
1,693.86.
Declining issues outnumbered ad
vancers by a 4-to-3 margin on the
New York Stock Exchange, where
composite volume totaled just 776.07
million shares, down from 897.72
million on Thursday.
At least some o f the weak trading
volume was attributed to a midday
distraction — a victory parade up
the nearby Canyon o f Heroes for the
World Series Champion New York
Yankees.
The NYSE composite index fell
3.18 to 529.82, and the American
Stock Exchange composite index
fell 0.66 to 628.21.
Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei stock
average fell 1.1 percent, Frankfurt’s
DAX index fell 0.1 percent and
London's FT-SE 100 fell 0.2 per
cent.
The Dow Jones industrial aver
age snapped its seven-session win
ning streak on Friday as blue-chip
even revocation o f their licenses.
Highlighting this year’s conven
tion will be the CAL-PAC Annual
T rade S how , on T u e sd a y and
Wednesday, which will feature en
tertainment, free attorney consulta
tions, and allow companies to intro
duce their now holiday season prod
ucts. Other convention events include
a Multi-Cultural Dinner Soiree spon
sored by Seagram Americas on Tues-
day evening. On Wednesday, Carl
Kareher, founder o f theCarls Jr. res
taurants, will
will keynote
keynote th
the State
taurants,
President’s Luncheon hosted by
Schiefflein & Somerset. On Thurs
day, Miller Brewing Company will
feature successful Burger King chain
owner, Lavon Hawkins who will key
note the Corporate Luncheon. The
c o n v e n tio n ’s fin ale w ill be a
President’s Black Tie Reception and
Dinner hosted by Anheuser-Bush.
Convention booth space is still avail
able at a discount for small busi
nesses. For information and registra
tion, please call 707.649.2662.
Benson Hotel Names
Employee Of
The Month
■ Brain Haag
B en so n E m
ployee o f the
Month
i J . Ruffin is a National Manager of Export Operations at toyota
n t n r Ça/pç // S 4.. IllC.
Reporting on Stocks
Small-company stocks rose for
an eighth straight session, but the
Dow’s winning streak ended Friday
as investors took some profits after
two weeksofnearly continuous gains.
The Dow Jones industrial aver
age fell 80.85 to 8,452.29, shrinking
the week’s gain to 35.53.
It was the biggest decline in three
weeks for the Dow, which just two
weeks ago was nearly 1,000 points
lower, threatening to slide beneath
its summer low o f 7,400.
Most broad-market indicators also
succumbed to some profit-taking
Friday, but smaller-company names
rose again as investors continued to
hunt for bargains in that battered
sector.
The Russell 2000 index o f smaller
companies rose 0.65 to 367.05, ex
tending its rally to eight consecutive
trading days and 14.6 percent.
While the mood remains much
improved compared with earlier this
month, it was clear all week that the
blue-chip rebound was provoking
concern about whether the company
profit outlook could justify any fur
ther gains.
The Cc7.’ had risen for seven
straight sessions before Friday, but
the first four days o f this week had
provided only 116pointsofthe nearly
600 gained during that streak.
By finishing lower Friday, the
Dow missed out on its first eight-
session winning streak since Decem
ber 1996. The seven-session string
was its best since June 1997.
The spark behind most o f the
market ’ s recent gain was the Federal
Reserve's unexpected decision late
last week to cut interest rates again.
It was the second rate cut in a month
nronertv
property have
have faced
faced suspensions
suspensions and
and
stocks finally succumbed to profit
taking in light trade.
“ It’s a little bit o f a retracement
from a very nice move up in a very
short time, so it’s not unexpected,”
Guy Truicko, portfolio manager at
Unity Management, said.
“With the Fed looking like it
might ease again in November, we
are in a very favourable mode right
now for equities, and buying on the
dips is probably the right strategy,”
he added.
The Dow closed down 80.85
points, or alm ost 1 percent, at
8,452.29.
The blue-chip index was up
35.53 points for the week, and is
now just 9.5 percent shy o f its July
record high after a surprise Federal
Reserve cut in interest rates a week
ago sparked a sharp rebound from
the summer sell-off.
On the New York Stock Ex
change, declining issues led ad
vancers by a margin o f 1,694 to
1,289 on light volume o f 632.3
million shares.
“Volume is very thin — maybe
the Yankees had something to do
with that," Truicko quipped.
Many traders were spotted cheer
ing New Y ork’s Yankees baseball
team in a ticker-tape parade in Man
hattan on Friday to celebrate win
ning World Series.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq
composite index shed 8.78 points,
or 0.5 percent, to end at 1,693.86.
For the week it was up 72.91,
reflecting the strong rebound in
technology stocks, helped by bet-
ter-than-expected earnings at lead
e rs su ch as M ic ro so ft C orp.
(MSFT.O).
The Benson Hotel has named Brian
Haage o f Northeast Portland as the
July Employee o f the Month. Haage
has been with The Benson since Au
gust o f 1993 as a Bellman in the guest
services department. He has been ac
knowledged by guests and co-workers
for his hard work and friendly attitude.
Established in 1912, the Benson
Hotel provides modem luxury in a
classic setting. Located in the heart of
downtown Portland, The Benson is
convenient to all that the city has to
offer, including sight-seeing, shop
ping, dining, performing arts and
museums. The Hotel has 287 guest
rooms, state-of-the-art exercise fa
cilities, 24-hour room service, cater
ing services, and meeting space tor
up to 600 people. The Benson is
owned and operated by the presti
gious WestCoast Hotels. Additional
information about the hotel can be
obtained through the Hotel’s website
at
w w w .c ity se a rc h .c o m /p d x /
bensonhotel.