Colorado Women Entrepreneur Organization Merges into Rockies Venture Club; Merger to Increase Rockies Venture Club Membership.

Business Editors

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2003

Rockies Venture Club (RVC), Colorado's premier entrepreneur networking organization, announced it has completed a merger with Colorado Women Entrepreneurs (CWE). Both organizations anticipate that the merger will attract even more entrepreneurial women to the ranks of RVC. The move further extends RVC's prominence as Colorado's largest non-profit association supporting entrepreneurs.

Three CWE founders and current board members, Kathy Simon, Lauren Sigman and Kim Rosengren Pope, will move to the RVC board with the goal of perpetuating the values and objectives of CWE under the RVC name. CWE members will automatically transfer membership to the Rockies Venture Club where they will receive all of the benefits the club offers including workshops, monthly programs, and annual financial forums. RVC also is creating a special interest group within the organization designed to offer programs and services specific to the needs of entrepreneurial women, including a special women-only networking session prior to the traditional RVC monthly program meetings.

"We have long believed that we needed to find a way to attract more women into the RVC," said Board President Jerry Comer. "Our merger with Colorado Women Entrepreneurs provides us with the perfect opportunity to grow our membership among a growing and vital market segment - women business owners."

"We saw many synergies between the two associations, including the focus on entrepreneurial business issues," said Kim Rosengren Pope, CWE Board President. "Rather than competing with RVC, we wanted to work together to create programming and events that would better meet the needs of both member groups. Plus, we felt that access to this very established organization would be an asset to our members."

All CWE members will be invited to attend the upcoming Colorado Capital Conference to be held on June 12, 2003, at the Marriott City Center in Denver. The conference will feature several prominent women entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

About Rockies Venture Club

The Rockies Venture Club (RVC) is a non-profit, volunteer organization that celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship in the Rocky Mountain region. Founded in 1984, RVC is the premier networking organization that connects entrepreneurs, service professionals, investors, venture capitalists and other funding sources. The RVC provides a unique open forum where emerging businesses can network with qualified funding sources and professional service providers, and where potential investors can learn of growing businesses through the RVC's presentation series and monthly forums. For more information, contact RVC at 303/831-4174 or www.rockiesventureclub.org.