West Virginia State University to Host Business and Economic Summit March 26

3/22/2019

---

Contact: Jack Bailey
(304) 766-4109
Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University (WVSU) College of Business and Social Sciences will host its fourth annual Business and Economic Summit Tuesday March 26, 2019, at the University’s Erickson Alumni Center.

The theme for the 2019 summit is “Entrepreneurship: It Starts at State” and will feature 13 speakers representing a variety of different professional fields over the course of the day which will run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The keynote speaker is the new mayor of Charleston, Amy Shuler Goodwin, who will be speaking at 2 p.m. on the topic of “Passion, Drive and Prom.”

The summit is free and open to the public.

Additional speakers and topics of discussion throughout the day will include:

• Bruce Hinckson, franchise owner of  Orange Theory Fitness - BCN Fitness LLC, speaking on “Four key components of leadership, team engagement, and successful businesses;”
• Ben Salango, Kanawha County commissioner, speaking on “Public entrepreneurship;”
• Chris Yeager, owner of Yeager Media Group, LLC and Appalachian Cannabis Co., speaking on “Opportunities for entrepreneurship in new and evolving industries within West Virginia;”
• Cedric Jefferson, FBI special agent, speaking on “Financial crimes experienced by entrepreneurs;”
• Leo López and Kimberly Donahue of the U.S. Small Business Administration, speaking on “Turning ideas into sustainable business concepts;”
• Anne Barth, executive director of TechConnect West Virginia, speaking on “StartUp to ScaleUp;”
• Jeff Barnes, president and CEO of the Barnes Agency, speaking on “Marketing Today. It’s Not Your Parents World;”
• Clinton Arnold, president of CT Arnold Enterprises Inc., speaking on “Entrepreneurship – What do you do, when you don’t know what to do;”
• Dave Hardy, revenue secretary for the state of West Virginia, speaking on “State Government and Entrepreneurship;”
• Lisa Hamrick, BrickStreet Insurance business development manager, speaking on “Why BrickStreet?;”
• Morgan Beals, Morgan Rhea designer and owner, speaking on “The journey of Morgan Rhea.”

Speakers are scheduled every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a break from noon to 2 p.m. All summit activities will take place in the Erickson Alumni Center.  

For more information, contact WVSU assistant professor of marketing Cheryl King at (304) 419-0851 or cheryl.king@wvstateu.edu or visit the conference web page here.

Follow West Virginia State University on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @WVStateU.
 
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.