Events
Summit 2004
Summit Report
The fourth Black Business Summit 2004 was organized and hosted by the Black Business Initiative from 23-25 June, 2004 at the Casino Nova Scotia Hotel, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In total, some 300 delegates attended from across Canada and the USA.
Mr. Hector Jacques, BBI's first chair and chairman of Jacques, Whitford and Associates chaired the Conference. The Honorable Myra A. Freeman, O.N.S., Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Nova Scotia, declared the conference open.
A line-up of excellent, knowledgeable and well-accomplished presenters delivered 4 informative workshops and 2 exciting and challenging key-note lunches over the three day event. The workshop series covered the entire gamut of the business life-cycle, ranging from smart beginnings to global business. The conference kicked-off with a golf tournament on Wednesday morning and an opening reception later that evening.
The highlights of the conference were the luncheon with Ambassador Andrew Young, former Mayor of Atlanta, and Daymond John, CEO of FUBU. At the Thursday Lunch, Ambassador Andrew Young made a compelling case for minority businesses indicating that minorities (Blacks in US and Canada) were an underserved market. Mr. Young said that the Western governments and big business in the 21st century face the challenge of proving that democracy and free enterprise can alleviate poverty, and can work for the poor as it has done for the middle class and the rich. Some 300 attended this lunch.
Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU (For Us By Us) hosted the Friday lunch. According to Daymond, innovation and smarts will always yield dividends in the most competitive of market places. By sharing his personal journey to business success, he urged prospective entrepreneurs to learn from the ground up all aspects of the business operation.
The conference provided a good balance between inspirational workshops, entertainment and relaxation. The golf tournament, tradeshow, boat cruise and AGM provided excellent networking opportunities, and the Biz show, as always, was a hilarious and excellent recap and wrap-up.
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