Wells Fargo and the National Association of Women Business Owners(R) Celebrate the Success and Drive of Women Business Owners Na
June 13 2005 - 9:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Wells Fargo and the National Association of Women Business
Owners(R) Celebrate the Success and Drive of Women Business Owners
Nationwide Trailblazer Award Recognizes Entrepreneurial Spirit of
Three Exceptional Women Business Owners SAN FRANCISCO, and MCLEAN,
Va., June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wells Fargo & Company
and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO(R))
presented the fourth-annual NAWBO/Wells Fargo Trailblazer Award at
NAWBO's 2005 Women's Business conference in Orlando, Florida on
Saturday, June 11th. This year, in response to the continued growth
in the number of women-owned businesses, Wells Fargo expanded the
award program from one winner to three winners. Recipients were
chosen for their "trailblazing" spirit as demonstrated by their
companies' business performance, innovation, growth, and personal
service to the community. In partnership with NAWBO, Joy Ott,
regional president for Wells Fargo Bank in Montana and national
spokesperson for Wells Fargo's Women's Business Services program,
presented three $5,000 cash awards and the Trailblazer Award to:
Laine Caspi, founder of Parents of Invention located in Granada
Hills, CA; Carolyne Turner McPherson, co-founder of Chicago-based
Information Development Consultants, Inc.(iDC); and Lisa Johnson,
co-founder and CEO of Gourmet Kitchens, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois.
"With women-owned businesses growing at twice the national average
for all small businesses, we are excited to broaden our commitment
and recognize even more outstanding achievements of incredible
women entrepreneurs," said Ott. "This year's winners are truly
inspirational and reflect the crucial role women-owned business
play in driving the American economy." Recognizing an untapped
market for "on-the-go" parenting products, Laine Caspi started
Parents of Invention, initially called The Ultimate Baby Company,
in 2002. The company fills an important niche by manufacturing
product ideas directly from parents, and paying royalties to
inventors. Parents of Invention products are sold nationwide in
BabiesRus.com, USA baby stores, and other smaller domestic and
international retail locations. For over 30 years, Carolyne Turner
McPherson, co-founder of Chicago-based Information Development
Consultants, Inc.(iDC), http://www.4idc.com/, has been developing
and implementing financial management software for local
governments and nonprofit agencies to help them with specialized
accounting, regulations, and policies and procedures. IDC promotes
government accountability through maintenance of accurate, complete
and timely records of how they are spending money. Lisa Johnson
created Gourmet Kitchens, Inc. (GKI), in 1989 as a corporate
catering company. In 2001, she diversified and began manufacturing
perishable food products for the nation's leading grocery chains,
convenience stores, independent food retailers and restaurants. GKI
produces a line of "grab n'go" food products and other unique food
solutions, along with wholesale catering, all under the brand name
Last Minute Gourmet(R) brand. GKI also offers a complete line of
Hispanic products under the Expresa LatinaTM brand name. "These
businesses reinforce the innovation and trailblazing spirit we see
so much of in women entrepreneurs," said Beverly Inman-Ebel, NAWBO
president and chief executive officer of TLC Talk Listen
Communicate, LLC in Chattanooga, TN. "I applaud their creativity
and business savvy in upholding the ideals of this award." Wells
Fargo's Women's Business Services program, established in 1995, is
an outreach and education program aimed at building relationships
with women business owners by sponsoring key community
organizations and market research. At the program's inception,
Wells Fargo established a public lending goal that serves as a
measure of progress. In September 2003, after surpassing their goal
three times, Wells Fargo established a new goal of $20 billion over
ten years. Wells Fargo has lent more than $4.7 billion toward this
goal and since the program's inception, has lent more than $20
billion to women business owners nationwide. About NAWBO Founded in
1975, NAWBO propels women entrepreneurs into economic, social and
political spheres of power worldwide. Thirty years later, NAWBO is
still the only organization that solely represents the interest of
women entrepreneurs in all industries. The organization's mission
is to strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of its members and
promote economic development; to create innovative and effective
change in the business culture; to build strategic alliances,
coalitions and affiliations; and to transform public policy and
influence opinion makers. Visit http://www.nawbo.org/ for more
information. About Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo &
Company is a diversified financial services company with $436
billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments,
mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers
from more than 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com)
across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the United States to receive the
highest possible credit rating, "Aaa," from Moody's Investors
Service. Providing financial products and services to more than one
million businesses with annual sales up to $20 million in all 50
states, Puerto Rico and Canada, Wells Fargo is the #1 lender to
small businesses in the United States in total dollar volume
according to the most recent CRA data (2003). The second largest
national SBA lender in dollars, Wells Fargo is an SBA Preferred
Lender in 28 states, and originated 3,555 loans for $495 million in
2004. Wells Fargo has also been ranked the number one SBA 504
lender nationally for the last two years. Its targeted business
services programs provide outreach and education to women, African
American, Latino, and Asian business owners about financial
services. Since 1995, Wells Fargo has loaned more than $25 billion
to women and minority business owners. DATASOURCE: Wells Fargo
& Company CONTACT: Sarah Pew of Wells Fargo & Company,
+1-415-396-0866, or ; or Shawn Taylor Zelman of NAWBO,
+1-703-506-3268, or Web site: http://www.nawbo.org/ Web site:
http://www.wellsfargo.com/
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