There is another initiative on dealing with poverty, not only in Pensacola, but across the Gulf Coast Region. The Gulf Coast REAP Summit 2011, which is sponsored by the Ibis Partners of West Palm Beach and Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission, is scheduled for Pensacola Beach on March17-19. Ibis Partners has similar summits planned for Memphis and St. Louis.
The speakers include actor Louis Gossett, an Ibis Foundation director; John W. Templeton, Co-Founder National Black Business Month;
David Hinson, National Director the Minority Business Dev. Agency; Joe Brooks, National Vice President, Civic Engagement, PolicyLink, Inc.;
Bishop Harold Calvin Ray, National Center of Faith Based Initiatives; and our very own Bentina Terry, of Gulf Power and The Clinton Global Initiative.
According to the press release, the steering committee includes:
# Ibis Partners LLC
# Gulf Coast Equity Coalition
# NAACP
# Alabama Minority Business Development Center
# Florida Black Chamber of Commerce
# Gulf Coast African-American Chamber of Commerce
# Computer Minded, Inc. of Atlanta
# University of West Florida
# African American Think Tank
# Unity in the Family Ministry of Pensacola, Florida
# Belmont & De Villiers Neighborhood Association of Pensacola, Florida
# Family Advocacy and Neighborhood Services, New Orleans, Louisiana
# Lewis Place Historical Preservation, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri
# Kingdom International Economic Development Corporation, New Haven, Conn.
Purpose: Many residents of the Gulf Coast live in disadvantaged, poor urban and rural communities. Residents of these areas often live with the reality of gross disparities in socio-economic quality of life. Therefore, the Gulf Coast REAP Summit 2011 is being planned to serve as a Gulf Coast regional gathering of policy makers, federal and state government officials, foundations, chambers and other business leaders, faith-based and neighborhood partners to organize broad based public/private partnerships to address the problems and implement solutions.
To register: Contact Tony R. McCray, Jr. or Gregory S. Daniel at (866) 206-8439 or visit www.ibispartners.com and click on events on the left side of the home page.