Newspaper Page Text
6A
FEBRUARY 21, 2002
Business
Black businesses are expecting big things
trom the Clinton presidential library
By MELISSA NELSON
Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
Black art galleries and Afri
can clothing boutiques are
openingrear the futuresite of
Bill Clinton’s presidential li
brary in the expectation that
lots of black tourists will come
to pay homagetothe man once
called “our first black presi
dent.” /
The library will not open
until 2004, but the shops on
President Clinton Avenue are
already enjoying some success
thanks to a temporary exhibit
of Clinton memorabilia and
expansion of the city’s River
Market district.
“Moving down here is about
being at the right place at the
right time,” said Deun
Shonowo, who sells West Afri
can clothing, ceramics and art
at her Afrikan de Boutique.
“One of the main reasons I
moved down here was the li
brary and the tourists.”
Clinton announced in 1997
that he would build his presi
dential library complex on the
south bank of the Arkansas
River. The site is next to the
New technology organization in Augusta hosts open house
AUGUSTA
The National Center for
Economic Development, Busi
ness & Technology, Inc.
(NCEDBT), a newly formed
technology-based economic
development organization will
hold an Open House and grand
opening celebration Thurs
day, February 28,2002,4 to 8
p.m., at the NCEDBT corpo
rate office located in the Au
gusta-Richmond County Small
Business Incubator. The Au
gusta Metro Chamber of Com
Looking for Augusta Focus newspaper racks in your area but can’t find them?
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River Market section of up
scale shops, pubs and trendy
restaurants. -
In December, ground was
broken on the complex, which
will include a museum and
academiccenter. The next day,
a preview exhibit opened
nearby, bringing an increase
in visitors black and white
downtown.
Lenora Taylor of North
Little Rock, a black woman
who volunteered in Clinton
campaigns, toured the exhibit
with a senior citizens group
recently and said she expects
thelibrary tobringblack tour
ists from around the world.
“I have family from Califor
nia to Michigan who want to
know about the library,” she
said.
Little Rock teacher Joann
Williams brought her racially
mixed fifth-grade class to the
exhibit. She said the exhibit
had an important message for
her students: “President
Clinton had the decency and
dignity tolet people know that.
African-Americans are ca
pable.”
. Theexhibit features pictures
of Clinton with musicians
merce will conduct the ribbon
cutting ceremony at 4 p.m.
“Our mission is to help in
crease profits through tech
nology, education, informa
tion and networking opportu
nities; to be a solutions facili
tator and to be an indepen
dent voice for the small and
middle-sized business commu
nity, said founder/CEO Helen
Blocker-Adams. We’re invit
ing the whole community to
come to this special event.”
The open house will feature
Stevie Wonder and Lenny
Kravitz, a sigred guitar given
to Clinton by 8.8. King and
numerous gifts from African
heads of state. Williams’ stu
dents were drawn to a statue
of Michael Jordan that the
basketball star gave to Clinton.
“This is tight,” said Keagan
Scribner, a black 11-year-old.
“I didn’t know President
Clinton liked Michael Jordan.”
Novelist Toni Morrison once
referred to Clinton as the
nation’s first black president
because of what many regard
as his understanding of the
black condition and because of
his upbringing. He grew up
poor and was raised for a time
by a single mother.
“We love him, we celebrate
him, wejust believein him. He
has always given African-
Americanstheirjust due,” said
the Rev. Arthur Hughes of
West Helena.
Crystal Altenbaumer, direc
tor of the Clinton Birthplace
Foundationin Hope, said about
40 percent of those who tour
the Clinton birthplace are
black.
“Wehavealotblack families
that include the Clinton cen
Technology demonstrations
from Clear Stream Networks,
Inc., Elliot Davis Technology
Solutions, Inc., Double
dot.com, Marketable Skills
Training Center, Gateway
Country, APO Computing Se
rvices, American Internet Case,
Volt Electrical and others.
There will be an opportu
nity to meet the NCEDBT
Board of Directors and tech
nological Advisory Board, hear
live music provided by Mid
City Records. There will be
ter in their reunions. The last
one was a reunion in Pine
Bluff with people from five
states. They rented a bus to
come here,” she said. :
Skip Rutherford, president
of the Clinton Library Foun
dation, said among the ideas
for marketing the library to
black tour groups is promot
ing nearby attractions such as
Little Rock’s Central High
School, where the federal gov
ernment sent in the National
Guard to protect nine black
students admitted to the all
whiteschool, and the National
Civil Rights Museum at the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis,
Tenn., where the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. was assassi
nated.
Andy Ingrahamof Fort Lau
derdale, Fla., president of the
National Association of Black
Hotel Owners Operators and
Developers and director of a
marketing firm specializingin
multiculturaltourism, said the
library is “big deal in terms of
economic impact and an op
portunity for African-Ameri
can vendors to get a piece of
the pie.” : :
food, beverages and a lot of
networking. Mustard Seed
Video Productions, Mid City
Records, Bobrow-Williams
Consulting, Parks Audio &
Design and Impact Safety Sys
tems, also located in the Small
Business Incubator, will show
_case their businesses for the
open house.
For more information or to
RSVP, please call
706.792.1427 or e-mail at
hba@arcsbi.com.
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OPPORTUNITY
Nearly $3 million in
link deposit program
By Kimberly Bush
Special to AUGUSTA FOCUS
AUGUSTA
Cityleadersin Augustahave
come up with several ways to
promote economic growth in
our area. One of their latest
projects is offering the Link
Deposit program tosmall and
minority businesses in Rich
mond County.
So what is Link Deposit?
Link Deposit is a program
that was set up back in De
cember 2001 to aid small and
minority businesses.
About two months ago the
city of Augusta deposited
nearly three million dollars
intotwobanks, SunTrustand
First Bank. These accounts
were set up to help give busi
nesses in Richmond County a
boost — a boost these compa
nies have waited for years
now, but many businesses in
our area need a lot more than
just a “pick me up” to help
keep them in business.
Augusta mayor Bob Young
signed the Link Deposit Pro
gram contract almost amonth
ago with the First Bank of
Georgia to get the program
started..
“I’d like to see businesses in
our area take advantage of
this program. It’san additional
source of funding. People
shouldlook at this program as
a opportunity to help their
businesses grow. Augustan’s
spend about a million dollars
a day. We just need to get
some of that money trickling
down through the small busi
nésses in our area,” mayor
Young said.
Link Deposit has been pro
viding a financial outlet for
small and minority businesses
in Richmond County for about
a month now.
So now that the program is
up and runninghow’s it doing
so far?
One of the duties of the
Purchasing Department is to
tally up the amount of loans
given on a yearly basis and
then establish how many of
these businesses were a suc
cess.
“We are not tracking those
numbers because once you
start tracking which busi
nessesget approved and which
ones don’t it becomes public
information and we are all
about protecting the vendors,
but we are working on getting
theinformation out tolet busi
nesses know there is help out
there.
“We are just now trying to
put amarketing plan because
we had to wait until the con
tracts weresigned. The mayor
Just signed contracts, so by
mid-March we should have a
planin place,” said Geraldine
Sams, director of the Purchas
ing Department.
Mayor Young says in the
meantime word of mouth will
just have to do.
"We have been mentioning
the program at all our small
business meetings.”
But that’s not the only way
the word is getting out about
Links deposit.
The president of the CSRA
Business League, Todd C.
Gaines, says they mention
Link Deposit to their custom
ers all the time.
“It’s a beneficial program
and we recommend it to our
clients on a regular basis. We
have actually gotten four busi
nesses approved and so far
those businesses are thriving
and doing just fine,” notes
Gaines.