Johnson C. Smith University is hosting a free program on the importance of small and minority businesses during a panel event at 6 p.m. August 26, 2009 in the Sarah Belk Gambrell Auditorium inside Biddle Hall.

Assistant Secretary for Community Development at the NC Department of Commerce, Mr. Joseph D. Crocker, will deliver the keynote address and serve on a panel, along with JCSU alumni who are local business owners and entrepreneurs. The program, Entrepreneurship and the Importance of Small & Minority Business to Sustainable Communities, is free and open to the public.

"This event is first in a series of programs on entrepreneurship and leadership development," said Sherrill Hampton, Director of the Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development and Special Assistant to the President.

For more information contact Hampton at (704) 378-1194, the Career Development Center at (704) 378-1045, or the Alumni Affairs Office at (704) 378-1119.