Contact: Phil Hearn
Mississippi State President Charles Lee will welcome members of the Mississippi Minority Business Alliance Inc. to the Starkville campus Thursday [July 14] for a membership meeting starting at 10 a.m. at the Hunter Henry Center.
Melvin Ray, special assistant to the president, will make a presentation during the meeting on a partnership between the MMBA, the university and the Mississippi Development Authority's Minority Business Enterprise Division.
The partnership was created last year to develop a statewide searchable database of minority-owned businesses. The database is being designed by MSU software engineering and computer science students with instructions from the MMBA. The Bagley College of Engineering students are being supervised by Tommy Stevenson.
Once completed, it will be linked to the MMBA Web site to provide a reliable resource for businesses and citizens who are seeking credible information about products and services available from minority businesses.
Other special presentations during the meeting will include:
--Bill Burge, director of the Northeast Mississippi Contract Procurement Center, discussing the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program;
--Alice Doss of the Mississippi District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, discussing SBA contract programs; and
--James Hull, president and chief executive officer of the Economic and Community Development Group of Mississippi, speaking on the topic, "How to Manage a Business into Success."
DeJonnette Grantham-King, MMBA board chair, will preside over the meeting.