Through an ongoing partnership with the Georgia Council for International Visitors, WEDA hosted a delegation from Ireland on April 17, 2008. The delegation was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Irish Institute of Boston College and was comprised of thirteen public officials, business leaders and educators from Northern Ireland. Terri Denison, District Director for SBA's Georgia District, joined WEDA clients Joey Johnson and Adrienne Simpson and WEDA board member Wendi Dillard to discuss ways to better support individuals traditionally under-represented in small business and entrepreneurship, especially women.

Processing for Charity (PFC) is a merchant payment solutions provider committed to putting integrity back into business by donating a significant portion of its profits to a variety of causes, schools, faith- based organizations, charities and other non-profits, including Women's Economic Development Agency (WEDA). When businesses choose PFC as their merchant services provider, they are given the option to select any non-profit organization to which PFC will donate a portion of its processing fees.

The goal of the WEDA / PFC partnership is to provide unbiased information to aspiring and existing small business owners. Through one component of the partnership, Szymon Kraszczynski, PFC's President, teaches a class on merchant and internet merchant processing as part of the Atlanta Microenterprise Initiative, WEDA's 14-week small business development program. The segment discusses the mechanics of credit card transactions; provides information on industry scams; and offers an honest overview of the merchant processing industry, including what to expect from merchant services providers. For the first WEDA alumni group meeting of this year, Maha Gaytan, PFC's Vice President of Communications, provided a seminar, which discussed the latest marketing trends for small businesses and provided tips on brand development.

WEDA appreciates PFC's work on behalf of the organization and its clients and we look forward to working with them for years to come. To learn how your business can contribute by participating in this worthwhile effort or to obtain more information, please visit the PFC website at www.Pro cessingforCharity.com.

WEDA Alumni Meetings seek to connect graduates of the Atlanta Micro Enterprise with other graduates, as well as provide tips, tools and strategies to advance their businesses to the next level. One way we accomplish this is by inviting business professionals to speak on topics relevant to entrepreneurs. Past topics have included "How to Reposition Yourself for Success" "Staying Motivated" and "Marketing Trends for Small Businesses". Past speakers have included Thomasene Blount Roberts, President and Owner of Dream Catcher Events; Millicent St. Clair, motivational speaker and author; and Maha Gaytan, Vice President of Communications for Processing for Charity, one of WEDA's community partners.

Alumni Meetings are great networking events. Details of our Fall Alumni Meeting will be forthcoming. If you have changed email addresses make sure that you email the changes to inquiries@weda- atlanta.org!

Elizabeth Petersen is the owner of "The Telling of Tales Studio," which offers classes in ballet and pantomime to children ages 3 through 18. Class benefits are many: They contribute to students' good physical health, introduce them to a foreign language (French), and expose them to various art forms, including classical music. Another often overlooked benefit is the improvement in students' rapid memorization skills: Each dance combination requires students to memorize a sequence of movements in a short period of time.

A ballet student as a child, the idea to open her own studio came to Petersen in a dream. "I awoke and immediately searched for my old ballet scrapbooks. All the old pictures reminded me of what a magical experience training and performing was for me," she says, adding, "Some of my happiest childhood memories came from those years."

Although inspired by her childhood experience, Petersen says, "I knew I was going to fail at this attempt to open my business if I did not get some training," so she undertook the Atlanta Microenterprise Initiative, WEDA's fourteen- week small business development program, and graduated in July 2006. "The professional instructors and class materials were exactly what I was looking for and [especially] came in handy when I began to market my business." Peterson's advice to other entrepreneurs? "I have learned to pray about everything. I have also learned that business ownership sometimes starts part-time and is gradually built into full-time, so hold on to your day job! In addition, do everything you can to get rid of your personal debt. This will help you transition more quickly into working full time on your company."

The Telling of Tales Studio Tel: (678) 602-9410 Email: lovedbyhim@yahoo.com