La Plata, MD – If you have a small business in Charles County, you almost owe it to yourself to attend IGNITE Charles County Business Resource Fair Friday, May 12 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the College of Southern Maryland La Plata Campus, 8730 Mitchell Road, in the Center for Business and Industry building.
IGNITE is a collaborative effort between the Charles County Economic Development Department (EDD) in partnership with College of Southern Maryland’s Entrepreneur and Innovation Institute.
“This is our effort to bring regional and state resources together under one roof,” said Charles County EDD Project Coordinator Michelle DeSoto.
“In the past, we have done an annual fall event,” Charles County EDD Deputy Director Marcia Keeth noted. “We were thinking about the possibility of doing something in the spring. It’s was originally just a concept. There are so many resources out there and small businesses sometimes aren’t aware that they’re there. The spring event really came out of team brainstorming,” she added.
The event will bring together the region’s business resource partners so that local business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can quickly and easily learn more about local, regional, state and federal services and connect with the right resources. Throughout the day, participants can visit resource fair tables and speak one-on-one with resource partners to gather information and network.
There will be an IGNITE Charles County session held at 10 a.m. and then again at 1 p.m. During these sessions, entrepreneurs will share how they were able to “ignite” success. Topics include industry, government, networking, innovation, tenacity and entrepreneurship.
Speakers include: Angela Meltan-Fray and Richard Fray, Dat Jerk Caribbean Chargrill; Kim Briscoe-Tonic, Briscoe-Tonic Funeral Homes; Mike Thielke, hotDesks; Guy Black, Blackout Investigations and Security Services; Scott Decker, Cardinal Scientific; and Somnath Sengupta, Powerhouse Consulting Group.
“These six entrepreneurs will share their stories of what ignited their business,” DeSoto explained.
“We want to bring something different to the table,” Keeth added.
DeSoto said it is not necessary to register for the event, but they do suggest that people do so if they can. “The event is free,” she said. “There will be a light breakfast early and attendees will get a dollar off lunch at the CSM cafeteria.”
DeSoto said the event is being structured so that small business owners can attend for just a couple of hours or all day if they desire.
“It’s an opportunity to get a lot of information in a small period of time,” she said.
For more information go to www.charlescountymd.gov/news-releases/ignite-charles-county-business-resource-fair-be-held-may-12.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com