Black Business Expo Tours Detroit from Midtown to Downtown Feb. 7; Motor Coach Workshops Cover Small Business Prospects.

DETROIT -- Current and prospective small business owners can see retail, restaurant, service and technology opportunities firsthand and learn finance and management skills from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at the Black Business Expo.

Co-sponsored by Bank One, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Black Business Expo will feature four motor coach tours highlighting small business opportunities.

The tours will visit Detroit's:

--Brush Park,

--Lower Woodward Corridor,

--Tech Town, and

--University Cultural Center-Midtown areas.

The expo begins with an 8 a.m. continental breakfast at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren, and concludes there with a 12:15 p.m. luncheon and discussion on SBA loans. Between 9:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., conference attendees will take one of the four tours.

The $25 conference fee includes breakfast, the bus tour and lunch and space is limited. Call [phone] to register or for more information.

"This year's Black Business Expo will give the insiders' view of small business opportunities in four areas in and near downtown Detroit," said John O'Brien, regional manager of Small Business Financial Services for Bank One. "Bank One, the SBA and Alpha Phi Alpha want to present business ownership possibilities and teach entrepreneurs how to turn their dreams into reality."

Area business and community leaders guiding the tours include:

--Howard Bell, executive director, Tech Town

--Susan Mosey, president, University Cultural Center Association

--Marilyn T. Nash-Yazbeck, president, and Elaine Hearns, executive director, Brush Park Development Corp.

--Mary Grace Wilbert, principal account manager, Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

At lunch, Joan Brophy, the Metropolitan Growth and Development Corp.; Dan Hook, U.S. Small Business Administration; and Nancy Tochman, Bank One Small Business Financial Services, will discuss SBA loans.

"SBA is excited to join with Bank One and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity to deliver the fourth annual Black Business Expo in Detroit," said Richard Temkin, district director for SBA's Michigan District Office. "We can serve the small business community much more effectively when we collaborate and pool our economic development resources."

This year the expo returns to its original February schedule in honor of Black History Month. The museum's new core exhibit, "And Still We Rise", will open for conference attendees after the luncheon concludes.

"Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. is proud to continue to be a part of the community and business development endeavors within Metro Detroit," said Sam Bullock, the fraternity's chairperson for the event. "Education and community have been core focal points of the fraternity for decades. This expo emphasizes that focus and will continue to provide expansive opportunities for the further development and enhancement of the Metro Detroit landscape. We thank Bank One and the SBA for their continued participation."

Partners and technical assistance providers include:

--Booker T. Washington Business Association

--Brush Park Development Corp.

--Corporate F/A/C/T/S/

--Detroit Alliance for Fair Banking

--Detroit Black Chamber of Commerce

--Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

--Detroit Entrepreneurship Institute

--Detroit Regional Chamber

--Detroit Urban League

--Jefferson East Business Association

--Metropolitan Growth and Development Corp.

--Mexicantown Hubbard Communities Partnership

--Michigan Economic Development Association

--Michigan Neighborhood Partnership

--Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center

--Michigan Statewide Minority Business Development Center

--Michigan Minority Business Development Council

--NAACP

--New Detroit

--Oakland County Planning and Economic Development

--Oakland County Office of Community and Minority Affairs

--Office of Neighborhood and Commercial Revitalization 

--Southwest Detroit Business Association

--Tech Town

--University Cultural Center Association

Alpha Phi Alpha is the nation's oldest traditionally black fraternity. Bank One operates a network of 240 branches and 270 ATMs in Michigan. The SBA's mission is to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting and protecting the interests of small business.