10th Annual Minority Business Summit Underway
R. Donahue Peebles gives keynote, MPT's Charles Robinson leads Town Hall
(BALTIMORE - February 20, 2009) - Well, many in the local business arena have been waiting a full year for its return. And, now it's here.
Last night before a packed audience, Visionary Marketing Group's LaRian Finney and company laid down the darn thing! Finney, who has been providing this type of business forum for the past 10 years as a way to give back to the community, stayed true to form.
For instance, the evening began with a networking mixer at the New Baltimore Hilton that included hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Confidently, Finney’s VMG team members were once again on-point as business owners and entrepreneurs flocked into the new Convention Center hotel to hear from some of the brightest minds in the country.
The featured presenter last night was real estate development mogul R. Donahue Peebles, a guy who grew up just down the road in the District of Columbia. His book, The Peebles Principles, were given away as gifts to attendees.
Prior to his keynote address, Peebles entertained questions from young entrepreneurs engaged in the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) program here in Baltimore. There, in a private session, he wonderfully engaged them and openly discussed how failure is simply part of the entrepreneurial road. However, although the journey can be lonely and is not for everyone, it can be done.
He said that a reporter recently compared him to Donald Trump. He thinks, however, that there is quite a bit of difference. He said that he, unlike Trump, was born in modest conditions and was not afforded a $650 million bank account at birth. And he said that it was his single mother who first introduced him the game of real estate. He said it was then that he realized his dream.
Also happening last night was a Town Hall meeting/panel discussion led by Baltimore’s own Charles Robinson.
A seasoned journalist who blogged LIVE! from the Democratic National Convention in 2008, Robinson did a masterful job. His panelists included, among others, Richmond McCoy. McCoy is the President and CEO of Urban America and “has consummated $3 billion in real estate transactions during a career that has spanned over a quarter century.”
During the meet-n-greet earlier with Peebles and the youth from NFTE, he said in an exclusive interview that his life mirrored much of what Peebles had discussed. He said that besides the tenacity necessary to make it these days during the worst American economy, faith is a key component of his arsenal.
“The mission of Urban America is to invest institutional capital into urban markets throughout the United States … to bring high-quality real estate and office building, hotels, retail shopping centers into the inner city so people can have a quality environment with which to enjoy,” he said.
There is much more to follow today, including a “Women of Influence Awards” breakfast and a panel discussion on the state of black women moderated by CNN’s Soledad O’Brien this morning. FMI, please visit www.minoritybusinesssummit.com.
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