Tulsa Chamber Economic Development

Wednesday, April 5th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AmericaÂ¹s robust economy is spawning small businesses like never before, and the ones that survive into adulthood are exerting unprecedented influence on the broader culture. Consider this: AmericaÂ¹s 23 million small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the private workforce, generate over half of
the nationÂ¹s gross domestic product, and are the principal source of new jobs.

To celebrate TulsaÂ¹s success stories, the ChamberÂ¹s Small Business Council, under the able chairmanship of Bill Lohrey, is gearing up for Small Business Week 2000. "Our annual celebration of entrepreneurship is held in conjunction with the SBAÂ¹s Small Business Week," explained Lohrey. "We hope
not only to recognize excellence in our community, but also to showcase programs and services in Tulsa that are available to people who want to realize their entrepreneurial dreams."

Small Business Week begins with a Business after Hours and Entrepreneurial Fair on Tuesday, May 23, 5:00-7:30 p.m., at the Sheraton Hotel. Admission to the Entrepreneurial Fair is free and open to the public. Those who want to stop in at the Business after Hours to enjoy refreshments, visit exhibit booths and network with friends and associates will be charged $10 at the
door. Reservations are preferred; please call Elaine Walsh at 560-0298.

The celebration continues on Wednesday, May 24, with an Awards Luncheon from
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the 60th floor of CityPlex Towers. A guest speaker has not been scheduled so that full attention can be directed toward this yearÂ¹s award winners. If you havenÂ¹t submitted your nominations or need clarification on the award categories, please contact Joel Embry at 560-0206. The nomination deadline is May 1, and help is available for nominators who want to portray their candidates in the best possible light.
The most successful packages should be bound in a loose-leaf notebook and should include a narrative, reference letters, news clippings and appropriate photographs.

Breakfast Network will be held at the usual time and place on Thursday, May 25. As a fitting conclusion to Small Business Week, the Small Business Council has invited one of the countryÂ¹s most exciting new authors, T. Scott
Gross, to speak that evening from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at TCCÂ¹s Performing Arts Center for Education. Gross is the author of Borrowed Dreams: The Roughest, Toughest Jobs on the Planet...and What I Learned from Working Them. The author spent two years on the road, taking on some of the most arduous jobs
he could find and intending to sum up his travels in a business book. What emerged is a riveting account of his adventures that, according to one reviewer, "truly makes us reflect on the quality and depth of our own life
experiences in a very positive way."

The charge for Thursday evening with T.
Scott Gross is $20, and books will be available for sale at the bargain price of $11.

Package tickets to all Small Business Week events are available for $55, and
Breakfast Network annual pass holders pay only $45. Experience the excellence, May 23-25.