Press Statement

Pineridge Small Business Empowerment Workshop Part 2  In Conjunction With The Grand Bahama

Chamber Of Commerce

Freeport, Grand Bahama - Pineridge Small Business Empowerment Initiative will be held on the 10^th January to 12^th January, 2011 at the Calvary Temple Youth Chapel facilities between the hours of 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

The Pineridge Small Business Initiative was started sometime in August, 2010 with an empowerment workshop which assisted Pineridge residents who are business owners or persons interested in starting their own business. The participants were educated in accounting techniques, given free legal advice and marketing skills.

Today we announce the continuation of this important Pineridge initiative.

We wish to thank and welcome the professor John Stevens and Dr. Todd Palmer and students from St. Bonaventure University who have graciously agreed to conduct the courses at the workshop. I am told that this is a community effort between the professor and students and we extend our most sincere gratitude to the university, all the participants and the entire Pineridge constituency.

We also wish to announce that this initiative is being held in conjunction with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce who will be inviting business owners outside of the Pineridge area to participate in the workshop. In addition I wish to note and thank Ms. Raquel Hart who is a Public Relations expert and consultant and works closely with Pineridge Small Business Initiative for her tireless assistance in putting together this workshop and Bellevue Business Depot for their donation.

Small business owners are the lifeblood of this local economy, they are with us in the good times and in the bad times. These are the people who sustain and who I believe will ultimately drive the Grand Bahama economy.

This initiative is more than a number of business classes but it is about aspiring, motivating and empowering small business owners. It is therefore important that we as leaders and small business owners take advantage of every opportunity we have to improve ourselves and to improve the product we provide.

I sincerely believe as we begin this New Year 2011 will be a better year for small businesses than last year. Economic indicators predict that the

Bahamian economy and our local economy in Grand Bahama will grow this year and we must do all we can to prepare ourselves to take advantage of this growth.

We are therefore inviting Pineridge business owners to register for this workshop as soon as possible as space is limited.

I now invite Mr. John Stevens and Dr. Todd Palmer from St. Bonaventure University and other members present to speak more in detail on the workshop itself.