Hosted by the Business and Economic Development Center in partnership with the Puget Sound Business Journal, the 2008 UW Minority Business of the Year Awards held on December 4th brought together more than 450 business leaders from every corner of the state to celebrate the achievements of the minority business community. Guests were treated to a memorable keynote speech by Edgar Martinez, CEO of Branded Solutions by Edgar Martinez and Seattle Mariner Hall of Famer, who shared with us his experiences and insights as both a key player as a Seattle Mariner and business leader within his industry.  The event culminated with General Microsystems being awarded the coveted William D. Bradford Minority Business of the Year Award.

Thanks to the generous contributions of our guests, initiated by a motivational and moving speech by Nate Miles of Eli Lilly, the event raised a record-breaking $30,000 in donations that will fund the various Business and Economic Development Center scholarships for under-represented minority students at the Michael G. Foster School of Business.  Bank of America and WaMu generously renewed their commitment to the minority business community as the event gold sponsors, and American Family Insurance stated their own commitment as a bronze level sponsor, a first for American Family Insurance. Merrill Lynch continued their support of the annual Minority CEO Summit and Boeing hosted a VIP reception for the award winners and our keynote speaker.