MBA to Host Minority Women’s Entrepreneurs Forum
According to recent research from Babson College, minority women entrepreneurs start new businesses at four times the rate of non-minority men and women and it turns out that minority women business owners tend to be more innovative and use their outsider status to develop socially conscious business practices that support the communities with which they identify.
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Commentary From: Michael Liu, Sr. Vice President, Dutko Worldwide
It may seem redundant—and it is. There will be no overall federal budget for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2013, so expect a series of stop gap Continuing Resolutions (CRs) over the summer to keep things limping along until after the November election. Neither the President's proposal nor the recently unveiled House Republican Majority budget will find the necessary votes to pass. The Senate will for another year, not have a budget blueprint of its own.
The bad news in this is that this creates a general environment of uncertainty which is not good for business. The good news is that, if there are programs and policies that interests want to modify or tweak, or affect funding for, then there will be a lot of fluidity to things up until those CRs are passed this summer. And if these interests can garner influential allies in the House or Senate, deadlines for "markups" of draft bills (especially those related to appropriations) will not be set in stone.
For those MBA and EIGS members who have an interest in NASA, the battle continues not so much over funding (in the near term) but over long term direction. Regardless of who wins this Fall, and regardless of issues related to privatization of space assets and programs, or targets and methods (e.g., Moon, Mars, manned/unmanned, etc.), an issue that will have to be wrestled with by NASA management is how to go about creating private-public partnerships of underutilized real estate, infrastructure, and intellectual assets which will create revenue for NASA as well as support in some fashion its mission or missions. Along the Gulf Coast, questions arise as to whether or not spaceport-like models in the Mid-Atlantic Region and Florida would be of most use, or something else. More fundamentally is the question of whether the private sector, NASA, and the State can come up with a working relationship to leverage each entity's strength to ensure that Stennis and Huntsville remain vibrant engines of economic development and job creation with strong links to space program innovation. Within Mississippi, the window is still open for the State to forge a great pact with Stennis that involves the expertise of the geospatial industry along the Coast. However, the resources available to support this opening may not be around much longer. Here's hoping that the right kind of leadership will emerge to make this happen…
Random notes: The GOP presidential primary process will slog on through May, and to get over the hump a lot of party leaders and elected official with automatic delegate seats will have to commit to Romney at that point to lock up the nomination for him before the Convention. Otherwise, it's will be a tumble in Tampa.
A monumental battle is shaping up between two sides of the housing industry: those involved in home ownership and those who support greater development of rental housing. As the discussion of changes to the home mortgage interest deduction heats up, expect a death match with a lot of media coverage since this is a tax policy issue that affects lot of average Americans…
At least two and as many as four major Administration officials will be leaving by the end of June.
Image of the Month
Earthquake Strikes Oaxaca, Mexico
Credit: NASA
A strong earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.4, struck southern Mexico on March 20, 2012. The epicenter was in the state of Oaxaca, near the village of San Juan Tepeltlapa. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake was caused by the convergence of the Cocos and North American tectonic plates.
The region’s rugged topography, shown in this shaded relief map, suggests that it is tectonically active. Green areas, such as the coarse of the Rio La Mariscala, are low elevation. Yellow indicates high elevation—over 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) in the mountains immediately west of the epicenter. Linear features running west-northwest may be evidence of faults. The elevation data were collected by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite.
Items of Interest
Geospatial mapping enhances Arlington National Cemetery management
Space Ref
Kathryn A. Condon testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee's disability assistance and memorial affairs subcommitee to provide an update on the progress made in rectifying long-standing management problems at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Arlington is no longer a paper-based operation. By producing a single electronic map of Arlington, the staff will assign, manage and track gravesites with an authoritative digital map," Condon said. "It will allow us to synchronize in real time our burial operations at Arlington."
The geospatial mapping system allows officials to synchronize burial operations with other daily operations, such as public ceremonies, infrastructure repair, grounds upkeep and public safety activities, Condon explained. The system is linked to Arlington's interment scheduling system, which allows schedulers to assign gravesites and assign procession routes. It also alerts Arlington staff of other activities in the area, she said.
Arlington is the first national cemetery to use this technology, Condon told the panel.
Read more: GISuser.com
Research and Markets: Global Remote Sensing Technology Market 2011-2014
SunHerald.com
TechNavio's analysts forecast the Global Remote Sensing Technology market to grow at a CAGR of 6.6 percent over the period 2011-2014. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing adoption of remote sensors in various…
Read more: businesswire.com
Did you know the Department of Homeland Security is planning to award up to $50 million in contracts for aerial remote sensing services to support incident management? DHS says it plans to award up to four IDIQ contracts over a five year period.
Read more: govconwire.com
NVision Solutions Receives Accolades from U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
The United States Army Corp of Engineers recently presented NVision Solutions, Inc. with a Certificate of Appreciation for exceptional achievement in supporting the Mississippi Valley Division's New Orleans District in the execution of Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System mission. NVision's outstanding achievement is in keeping with the finest traditions of public service. The certificate was presented by Colonel Edward R. Fleming of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
EIGS IN THE NEWS
EIGS forms workforce development partnership with Digital Quest
Mississippi Business Journal
The Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS) has formed a partnership with Digital Quest, a national geospatial education firm. The partnership was formed to enhance the EIGS workforce development program with geospatial certifications…
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SIS Exhibiting with CompassData for ASPRS 2012 Annual…
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Join Spatial Information Solutions and CompassData for Spring ASPRS March 19-23. Visit our…
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Digital Quest Partners with the National Partnership for Careers in Law…
GISuser.com (press release)
Digital Quest, a national leader in geospatial education, is partnering with the National Partnership for Careers in Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security (NPCLPSCS) to raise the importance of geospatial technology in law and…
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Global Perspectives
DigitalGlobe signs Chinese Internet firm
Boulder County Business Report
Satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe Inc. said that the Internet search portal Baidu.com Inc. has subscribed to its image library covering 344 cities in China. Specific financial terms of the deal were not disclosed between…
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India's spy satellite to be launched in April
TwoCircles.net
He said Risat-1 is the first such satellite being built by India and is a bit complex compared to other remote sensing/earth observation satellites built and sent up earlier. According to ISRO officials, Risat-1 at 1850 kg is the heaviest microwave…
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What to expect from India in space
Examiner.com
India's space sector has experienced tremendous growth with the launch of their first moon probe, development of the largest civilian remote sensing satellite constellation in the world, and operating the largest domestic communication satellite system…
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EVENT-SPOTLIGHT (Full text)
According to recent research from Babson College, minority women entrepreneurs start new businesses at four times the rate of non-minority men and women and it turns out that minority women business owners tend to be more innovative and use their outsider status to develop socially conscious business practices that support the communities with which they identify.
In order to support the critical and growing role that minority women entrepreneurs play in the business community, the Magnolia Business Alliance, in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi School of Business, will host a "Minority Women's Entrepreneurs Forum." Minority business owners will not want to miss this opportunity at the Trent Lott Center in Hattiesburg on April 12, 2012.
The Keynote address will be given by Kathryn M. Freeland, the founder and former chief executive officer of RGII Technologies Inc., an information technology, systems integration, and engineering solutions company that served nine presidential cabinet agencies of the federal government. Freeland successfully built and sold RGII to Computer Horizons Corp. in 2003. Freeland now serves as the founder and chief executive officer of Freeland and Associates LLC (www.freelandassociatesllc.com) , a consulting services firm that partners with businesses in a variety of areas. Freeland holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Financial Management from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Freeland, a visionary leader who has made her mark in the business community, has recently published her first book, Navigating Your Way to Business Success: An Entrepreneur's Journey (www.anentrepreneursjourney.com).
Johnny DuPree, the three-term mayor of Hattiesburg, will speak to attendees during lunch. Dupree entered public service in 1987 when he was appointed to the Hattiesburg Public School Board. A year later, he and his wife established a small business in real estate. In 1991, he was elected to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors where he served for 10 years before running for mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001. Mayor DuPree made history last year by winning the Democratic runoff for governor and becoming the first African-American in state history to clinch the gubernatorial nomination for either party.
The event will also include information about:
- Federal and State Programs
- New Business Strategies
- Financing Opportunities
- Smartphone Apps for Small Businesses
- Social Media Marketing and Branding
"As an organization that focuses on providing mentorship and supporting new and existing companies, it is a natural fit for the Magnolia Business Alliance to host this forum as we are seeing a growing and stronger presence of minority-owned women's businesses in our communities," stated Darren Daniels, MBA Project Manager.
Event Details:
Where: Trent Lott Center, Hattiesburg, MS
Date: April 12, 2012
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Lunch provided, but registration required:
www.magnolia-ba.biz
228-295-7117, info@magnolia-ba.biz
