The Women’s Business Enterprise Council South (WBEC South) hosted its 15th Annual Women’s Business Opportunity Expo in New Orleans on April 9-10, 2015. The theme, “Connect. Collaborate. Succeed.” was evident in every portion of the event.
Thursday evening reception
Attendees began connecting right away at Thursday’s Opening Reception. The reception was held in Dutch Alley of the Historical French Market, America’s oldest public market and a very apropos setting.
As an homage to the annual New Orleans French Quarter Festival that kicked off the very same evening, the event was renamed “WBEC South 2nd Quarter Festival”. Attendees were treated to a Zydeco band and food and beverage WBE Suppliers showcased their culinary talents at this outdoor festival style event.
WBE attendees collaborated at an in depth workshop facilitated by the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses faculty. Participants worked in groups to perfect their value propositions and then participated in a round robin contest. The winning WBE, Yvette Archuleta-Tudury with Vast Industries, not only won an opportunity to present her pitch at the packed house luncheon, she also won a scholarship to WBENC’s National Conference in Austin, TX. Click here to see more photos from the event.
2014 Council Award Winners
- WBE Role Model of the Year: Kristen Preau Moore/ Cook Me Somethin’ Mister
- WBE Volunteer of the Year: Kathleen Hunt/ Personalized Payroll Services
- WBE of the Year: Pat Thomasson/ Thomasson Company
- Corporate Advocate of the Year: Rivers Fredrick/ Entergy
- WBE Supplier of the Year Under 10 Million: Sharon Valverde/ Lightning Bolt
- WBE Supplier of the Year Over 10 Million: Michele Wink/ UP Professional Solutions
- Corporation of the Year: BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana
WBEC South’s 2015 Expo, was presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana and Entergy Services. Nissan, Shell, Toyota, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and numerous others major and local business came together to sponsor the event as well.
Once again, a huge thank you to all of our sponsors for their generous support!
