University
of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff
| April 6, 2001 | Contact: Jeffron Boynés (312) 413-8702; jboynes@uic.edu |
PANEL SALUTES AREA ENTREPRENEURS
How to maintain a thriving business in today's economy will be explored during a panel discussion at the University of Illinois at Chicago in conjunction with UIC's "Entrepreneurship Week" April 9-13.
The panel discussion, "Entrepreneurship in the New Economy," will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on April 11, in Lecture Center D-5, 804 S. Halsted St. The discussion is open to the UIC faculty, students and the media. A reception will immediately follow.
The event brings together several of Chicagoland's most successful entrepreneurs to share their insights and perspectives on business survival and success.
Guest speakers include:
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Dean Mihas, co-founder of Delray Farms, LLC, a leading specialty food chain serving the Hispanic and African-American communities. Mihas, a UIC graduate, started Delray in 1994 and helped the company achieve more than $100 million in revenues after only three years in business.
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Anne Daly Tulig, co-founder of Infoware, Inc., a project-based information-technology consulting firm providing reliable implementation and maintenance services for mainstream and emerging technologies.
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Alan Crane, founder of Crane Carton Company. Founded in 1961 with 20,000 square feet of space and two employees, the company now employs 200 and fills 200,000 square feet, with plans for 50,000 more. Crane Carton Company is recognized by the Master Printers of America as the "Best Workplace in America."
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Michael Ferro, Jr., founder and CEO, Click Commerce, Inc. Click Commerce, Inc. is one of the leading worldwide providers of Internet-based, business-to-business, electronic commerce solutions for global enterprises.
"We are very excited about the willingness of many Chicago-area entrepreneurs to participate in Entrepreneurship Week," says Gerald Hills, who holds the Coleman/Denton Thorne Chair in Entrepreneurship and is director of UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. "This event is part of a week-long celebration of entrepreneurship and its importance to Chicago's economy and the University of Illinois at Chicago community."
Entrepreneurship Week is sponsored by UIC's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, recognized by Success magazine as the third leading entrepreneurship program in the United States. In addition to offering courses on the topic, the institute directs the selection of new members to the annual Chicago-Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.
The institute also sponsors an annual research symposium on marketing and entrepreneurship and a certificate program for rapidly growing firms. In association with UIC's Center for Urban Business and Family Business Council, the institute provides programs for minority and smaller enterprises.
For more information, contact the institute at 996-2670.
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