Contact: Jim Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State will welcome the Mississippi Minority Business Alliance to campus in mid-June.
A June 13 MMBA membership meeting at the university will begin at 11 a.m. in the Parker Ballroom of the land-grant institution's Hunter Henry Center.
MSU and its Office of Research and Economic Development are serving as hosts for the special event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Jobs Accelerator Program.
"We are pleased to welcome the MMBA back to our campus," said Melvin Ray, associate vice president for economic development.
The meeting includes an impressive lineup of speakers, networking opportunities and lunch, Ray explained.
Bob Covington, director of the Mississippi Development Authority's Minority and Small Business Development Division and an MSU alumnus, will deliver the keynote address. His presentation will detail minority- and women-owned business participation in the Yokohama Tire project.
In late April, the Japanese manufacturer announced that it would build a new $300-million commercial truck tire plant in Clay County.
Additionally, David Shaw, MSU vice president for research and economic development, will discuss the university's role in helping to bring the economic development project to the state.
"Yokohama's decision to build in the Golden Triangle is a very strong example of how a major research university is a significant economic development asset," Shaw said.
"We are looking forward to working with the company and its suppliers," he added.
For additional information or to RSVP for the meeting, contact by June 10 MMBA Executive Director Shellie Michael at 601-965-0366 or smichael@mmba.us.