(Elje
lune 04, 2003
rt lattò ©bseruer
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.