Minority Entrepreneur Program Seeks New Class, Meeting For Interested Candidates 8/31

Year-Long Minority Entrepreneurship Program Seeks 

New Class: Mandatory Meeting For Interested 

Candidates to be held on Aug. 31

SIDE STREET TO MAIN STREET BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Side Street to Main Street Grad Ceremony April 19, 2016

(Middletown, CT) Chairman Gregory Shook of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce announced that the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program is now accepting candidates for the Fall 2016 - Winter 2017 class. The Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program is a one year long entrepreneurial and business development course, with a rigorous curriculum, designed to assist minority small business owners in the community, who have not had formal business training, to become more successful by developing the attitudes, skills and qualities necessary for effective business ownership, and success, taking them from the Side Street to the Main Street of the business community. The program, now entering its 20^th year is free for all accepted candidates thanks to the support of Aetna Inc., which has supported the program since its inception in 1997.

To participate, all interested candidates must attend the Mandatory Program Orientation and Application Submission Meeting on Wednesday, August 31, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, 393 Main Street, Middletown, CT. The program’s first class is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 4, 2016.

“When the Side Street to Main Street Program started there were few minority-owned businesses in Middlesex County and this program has changed those dynamics. Aetna Inc. has supported this program since the beginning and as this program seeks its 20^th-anniversary class, it continues to support its success. We tremendously appreciate their corporate support of this community program,” said Larry McHugh, President of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.  

Admission to the Program is competitive. The top 16 qualified Applicants are admitted to the Program.  Although open to any prospective Connecticut minority-owned business, priority is given to Middlesex County minority businesses. 

Since the inception of the Program in 1997, over 235 people have graduated from the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program, which has been fully funded and supported by Aetna, Inc., and it has been a successful and most effective way in which we have encouraged the development and growth of small, minority-owned businesses, which are now part of the business community.

The program has won numerous awards, the chamber received the Middlesex County NAACP Business Award for the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program which was the first NAACP Business Award given to any state Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy honored the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program with the Vision 2000 Award as the State Model of Excellence for Minority Business Development. In 2007, the U.S. Small Business Administration gave its Connecticut Minority Small Business Champion Award to Jim Jackson for his work on the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program. In 2011, the Side Street to Main Street Business & Leadership Development Program was presented with a Celebrate Connecticut! Award by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), along with a Statement of Recognition from Governor Dannel P. Malloy, for commitment and service, promoting economic development in the State of Connecticut.

For more detailed information and to register for the Mandatory Class Program Orientation and Application Submission Meeting, Email: mailto:jennifer@middlesexchamber.com or
call Jennifer at 860-347-6924.