July 2011 eNews

Fourth Annual Minority Business Executive Program Graduates 27

Participants representing a wide range of  industries- from manufacturing to consulting to construction and communications, and came as far away as Florida and Ohio to attend the fourth annual Minority Business Exeuctive Program June 12-17 at the Univeristy of Washington. Classes included concentrated faculty presentations on accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, HR and leadership. Participants also had the opportunity to learn from guest speakers, including Scott Oki, former Senior Vice President at Microsoft, philanthropist, and CEO of Oki Golf, who provided five simple thoughts about entrepreneurship: 1) Do work that you are passionate about, 2) Work hard, 3) Hire good people- hire people smarter than yourself, 4) Lead by example, and 5) Take risk.
 
The class also heard from a panel of successful minority business owners who are also alumni of the MBEP Program. Each panelist offered advice to the current class. Purcell Johnson of Castle, Inc. discussed the need for constant reinvention of your business- to always look for new opportunities. Sofia Cavali from Multnoma County offered advice on how to maximize the MBEP Program "Implement one thing you learned within the next two weeks." and "talk to people about what you learned, so that it becomes engrained in you."  Albert Shen from Shen Consulting suggested that MBEP students should leverage their connections and establish a network in their communities through non-profit board involvment." MBEP participants also have their own network- a network of four classes of MBEP graduates; nearly 100 minority business executives.  
 
2011 MBEP Graduates

Abdul Abebefe, ADMA Group, Inc.	Joe Menard, Metal Benders, Inc.
Rick Antezana, Dynamic Language Center	Karen Myers, Certified Manufacturing, Inc.
Jethro Castro, Solutions Resource, LLC	Mayumi Nakamura, Pacific Software Publishing
Farayi Chiro, MasikaTech, LLC	Satish Nath, Multnomah County, Oregon
Brian Clark, Clark Transportation	LC Ross, Matisia Consultants
Shelly Dickson, Kalani Packaging	Mike Russell, Vulcan Products, Inc.
Julio Galarza, Adventonline/College Hill Media	Jeff Sterling, All Season Window, LLC
Ryan George, Liberty Bay Excavating	Jesse Sterling, All Season Window, LLC
Mychal Harris, Avyci Solutions, LLC	Daisy Szabo, Idea Entity Corporation
Tyrone Henry, Green Team Cleaning	Lewis Townes, Retail Lockbox
Lisa Hufford, Simplicity Consulting	Tim Wang, T.D. Wang Advertising Group
Rita Jefferson, Lummi Indian Business Council	Keri Welhart, Stroco Manufacturing
Dantes LaHens, Lunari Consulting	Ron White, Probity Builders
Susan Long-Walsh, Susan Long-Walsh & Associates

 

BEDC Seeks CPA Mentors

The BEDC Consulting Program in Accounting offers Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) opportunities to mentor UW accounting students and assist companies in under-served communities.

Through these projects, CPA professionals provide pro bono assistance to improve a company’s ability to generate financial statements (i.e. balance sheet, income statement, etc.) and verify the accuracy of those statements. This verification will not be a full audit or review but will insure that each company’s financial statements are reasonably accurate.

This work will be supported by leading UW accounting students, who serve as interns for these CPAs where they will learn best accounting industry practices to improve their skill sets while simultaneously giving back to the community. For more information about this program download our flier or contact Wil Tutol, (206) 616-1216.

 

Minority Business of the Year Nominations

Nominate an outstanding minoirty-owned business for the 2011 UW Minority Business of the Year Awards.  The awards recognize winners in five regions throughout Washington with an emphasis on companies that have reached significant sales volume. In recognizing outstanding business achievement, the Awards program communicates the impact of minority businesses on the state’s economy and supports the growth of the next generation of entrepreneurs of color.

To nominate a company please complete our online nomination form by August 1, 2011.  You may nominate as many companies as you choose and businesses may self-nominate. 

 

Tickets on Sale for Minority Business of the Year Awards

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, December 8, as we come together to celebrate the achievements of Washington's minority business community at our 2011 UW Minority Business of the Year Awards. The awards dinner will be held at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel. The 2011 keynote speaker is Scott Armstrong, CEO of Group Health.  Tickets are on sale now for $100 per person. We also have many sponsorship opportunities available. For more information download our flier or contact Jen Bauermeister (206) 543-3681.