26th Annual Minority Enterprise Development Week

from staff reports

Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week, celebrating The Power of Strategic Alliances in the Global Economy, will be held September 22-26, 2008. This is the 26th year of celebration for MED Week in the WNC region.

Events to support minority entrepreneurship development include the annual awards luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 23, at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel. At the luncheon the WNC Report Card will be presented, offering an overview of business support in the WNC region and honoring minority entrepreneurs who have made significant accomplishments in the region.

This year the MED
Committee included a focus on youth entrepreneurship through a
collaboration with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. The
College’s Center for Business and Technology Incubation Center launched
its first YES! Camp (Youth Entrepreneurial Scholarship) the week of
21-25. Two candidates who participated in the week-long camp under MED
Week Committee sponsorship will be honored at the awards luncheon.

Instructors
and guest speakers provided YES! Camp participants with information on
various aspects of entrepreneurship. The camp included a graduation
ceremony and competition for best business idea, marketing, and
strategic plans.

The
observance of MED Week was begun in 1982 by President Reagan to honor
the accomplishments of ethnic minorities in business. Since that time
it has been celebrated on a local, regional, and national basis.

The
Minority Enterprise Development Week Committee of WNC, Inc. sponsors
MED week for the western North Carolina region. This local committee
has many forms over the last 26 years and obtained non-profit status
three years ago. The committee’s mission is to provide the best
leadership and direction for the promotion, establishment, and
development of minority businesses in WNC through education,
communication, and advocacy.

For more
information about the committee and MED events, contact Brenda Mills,
MED Week Chair, at 828-232-4566 or [email protected].