Vol. 24, No. 7	Oct. 23, 1998

Columbia Hosts NYC Small Business Conference

Some 350 businessmen and businesswomen from the New York City area gathered at Columbia on Thurs., Oct. 15 to listen, to talk and especially to learn about today's opportunities for small, disadvantaged, minority-owned and women-owned businesses during a day-long event entitled "The New York City Small Business Opportunities Conference."

"This was a highly successful event," said Larry Dais, assistant vice president for community relations at Columbia and one of the conference organizers. "It was surprising how many of the small business owners and operators who attended-very busy people-stayed for the entire day."

Dais also noted that in keeping with the spirit of the day, a local caterer from 110th Street was used to supply the conference's breakfast and reception.

The event began with brief speeches by Denise Notice-Scott, special assistant at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, President George Rupp and Rep. Charles Rangel, Democratic U.S. Congressman from Harlem.

These government and local leaders stressed the importance of small businesses to the entire fabric of a community, not simply to its economy.

In their speeches, Rangel, Notice-Scott and Rupp also urged the conferees to take full advantage of the increasing opportunities the federal government is providing to enhance small businesses through procurement, partnering, international trade and youth entrepreneurship programs, and through the Harlem and South Bronx Empowerment Zone initiatives.

The themes outlined in morning's speeches were more fully explored later in the day during a series of panel discussions that took place in lecture and meeting halls throughout the campus. Panelists were drawn from all levels of government, business and academia and addressed such topics as "Teaming: Prime Contractors, Small Businesses, Colleges and Universities" and "Retrofitting: Small Business and Government Bureaucracy."