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Page A3
Entrepreneurs Sponsor Coffee and Issues Forum
..Quiet footsteps
of economic
recovery
outlined
™ I f you can get $100 billion to
rebuild Iraq, then you can get
money fo r health care and
education in this community.
by J aymee R .C lti
T he P ortland O bsers er
I».
Despite the record joblessness,
cuts to health care and education
and comparisons to the Great De-
•, pression, state and federal politi-
, cians are pointing to quiet foot­
steps o f economic recovery for the
state.
The news was delivered Friday
by Marty Brantley, executive direc-
, tor o f the Oregon Economic and
Development Department and by
. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., at
the Oregon Association o f Minor­
ity Entrepreneurs “Coffee and Is­
Piton» by J aymee R. C i yi /T iie P or it . am » O bsers er
sues” forum.
U.S.
Sen.
Ron
Wyden,
D-Ore. (left) meets Woody Broadnax o f the
Women and minorities in small
Juneteenth
Association
Northwest during a Friday forum at the
businesses were on the agenda,
Oregon
Association
of
Minority
Entrepreneurs.
but the conversation burgeoned
into a pep talk to small business
owners as the senator outlined a trading opportunities for his pro­ ness from this project," Wyden said.
posed transportation bill.
plan for economic recovery.
He also addressed O regon’s
“ I will not rest until people from health care crisis and promised to
Wyden, a longtime OAME sup-
porter, promised the crowd con- this room get a fair measure ofbusi- work with President Bush to secure
- U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. at a forum sponsored by the Oregon
Association of Minority Entrepreneurs
federal funds for two o f the state’s
priorities: education and health care.
“ If you can get $100 billion to
rebuild Iraq, then you can get money
for health care and education in this
community,” Wyden said.
Brantley introduced the idea o f a
workforce bill to better train work­
ers for large companies, but his
focus was on promoting O regon's
tourism industry. He discussed
marking O regon-m ade products
such as wine in the direction o f
Idaho’s potatoes and California’s
raisins.
Tourism came as encouraging
words to Woody Broadnax o f the
Juneteenth Association Northwest.
Broadnax said he would like to
attract tourists to Portland for
Juneteenth celebrations.
The local resident said he has
got support from Wyden for mak­
ing Juneteenth, the day the last
slaves in the United States were
freed, a state holiday.
Broadnax will present the pro­
posal to the State Legislature on
June 19.
For some attending the forum,
W yden's very presence brought
them hope.
“The visit said that w e’re still
on his radar screen," said Faye
B urch-W ilson, ow ner o f a small
consulting firm, who attended the
forum.
W yden said, "The people in
this room have the talent to build
a better Oregon. I'm going to make
the federal governm ent a better
partner.
African American Chamber Leaders Applauded
The African American Chamber o f Commerce
had a lot to do with the city’s recent decision to
award a five-year, multi-mi Ilion dollar public park­
ing contract to Star Park, a parking company in
partnership with three local minority business as­
sociations.
Officials said the contract set a milestone as the
first time in O regon's history that a government
agency awarded a contract o f this size that in­
cluded ethnic minorities without a minority set-
aside program.
The African American Chamber o f Commerce
launched an intensive investigation into the public
“Smart Park" contracts last fall and used their
professional resources to initiate thejoint venture.
“The African American Cham berofCom m erce
wrote the book on this one," said a local govern­
ment employee. "They demonstrated that they had
the imagination, determination and the profes­
sional consideration to also include the Hispanic
and Philippine AmericanChambersofCommerce.”
Members of the
local African Ameri­
can, Hispanic and
Philippine American
Chambers of
Commerce are
celebrating a
partnership that led
to the awarding of a
multi-million dollar
contract to manage
the city's downtown
Smart Park ga­
rages.
T u a l a t in
H il l s
N ature
P a r k
7
kzs
t
3
'V Ï1
f
.► ..
i
Explore the sights and sounds of the Portland area.
Plan your trip at trimet.org
to w o rk
| to p la y
| to liv e
TR l @ M E T
See where it takes you.
4
t
Community
Invited to
Join in the
Juneteenth
Parade
Celebratory
march will
take place on
June 21
The annual Juneteenth Pa­
rade will take place on Satur­
day, J une 21 and al I m em bers
o f the com m unity are invited
to design a float o r display
with the them e ‘Living the
D ream ’ to drive in the parade
or walk with business, church,
school or historical freedom
banners.
The parade, w hich leaves
from the Bethel AM E C hurch
at 5828 NE 8,h at Jarrett at 2
p.m ., will also feature bands,
drill teams, vintage cars and
other festive m archers.
Those w ishing to jo in the
parade should assem ble at the
church at 9 a.m. w here there
will be a Juneteenth Extrava­
ganza Raffle. For m ore infor­
mation, call 503-335-0855.
The Juneteenth celebration
w i 11 kick o ff on Thursday, J une
19 at L egacy E m m an u el
Lorenzen C enter from 2 p.m.
to 5 p. m. and at the Multnomah
C o u n ty
L ib ra ry
on
Killingsworth at 6 p.m.
O n Friday, June 20 there
w ill be a carnival at 6 p.m . at
V ancouver and R ussell w ith
live stage perform ances, the
Red C ross M obile M useum ,
and food and vendor booths.
T he carnival w ill co n tin u e
on S a tu rd a y and S u n d ay
from noon to dusk w ith a
ju b ile e beg in n in g at 3 p.m .
on Sunday.