CoB to host Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference Feb. 13

Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business will be hosting the Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference on Friday, Feb. 13, in the Student Center. The COB and EMU students organize this event with an estimated 250 attendants attending.

The Conference begins at 8:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast and breakfast speaker and EMU alumnus Todd Palmer, owner of Diversified Industrial Staffing Services of Troy.

The luncheon keynote speaker will be Howdy Holmes, an EMU alumnus. Holmes is the president of Chelsea Millings Company, a company founded in 1901 by Holmes’s grandmother who is famous for inventing Jiffy baking mixes. The luncheon will be in the Student Center Ballroom.

The all-day event will also feature breakout sessions which will focus on local family-owned businesses.

Representatives from Puffer Red’s in Ypsilanti will be speaking. This particular breakout session will discuss changing trends in the fashion industry and how they have stayed relevant for 30 years.

The second breakout session will have representatives from Sorella’s in Livonia. Sorella’s is an award-winning bakery that specializes in wedding, birthday and any occasion baked goods. The bakery has been up and running since 2005, co-owned by sisters Monica Ingles and Bertha Ferguson.

The featured panel discussion will focus on leading green industries in the area. Mike Garfield from the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor and Bob Sullivan, EMU alumnus, will be speaking about the issues facing green businesses.

Following the luncheon the Skandalaris Business Plan Competition will take place featuring high school and university finalists, ending with an award ceremony.

All EMU students and faculty are invited to attend this free event for networking, refreshments and LBC credit. To attend the event register online at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs152/1103316617495/archive/1119981728236.html.