Thursday, September 29, 2011

The third annual Hispanic Business Development Conference at the University of North Carolina Wilmington Oct. 7-8 will give more than 150 Hispanic and non-Hispanic attendees the opportunity to connect, diversify their business opportunities and enhance their business plans.

Sponsored by UNC Wilmington Centro Hispano and the Latino Alliance of Southeastern North Carolina, the event will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday in the UNCW Warwick Center. Registration is $25, with an optional additional cost of $25 for an exhibit table: http://www.uncw.edu/centrohispano/latinoalliance.html . Local businesses and agencies are invited to attend.

The conference will feature educational resources (best practices, marketing tips and networking sessions), a business panel including local and regional business leaders and a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Astrid Chirinos from the Latin American Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte, N.C.

Frances Scarlett, director of the Small Business and Technology Development Center at UNCW, will discuss branding and business planning on Friday morning. A half-day session on Saturday conducted in Spanish will include a discussion on race relations with visiting Cuban writers Inés María Martiatu and Alberto Abreu Arcia.For more information, visit UNCW's Centro Hispano's website: www.uncw.edu/centrohispano .

The media is invited to cover the conference on Friday at 10:30 a.m. during a presentation that will include hands-on activities and discussion, and a networking reception at 3 p.m.

Media Contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW marketing and communications, 910.632.3903, or davisjc@uncw.edu