On November 9th at the Downtown Aquarium, WBEs and Corporate partners of the WBEA gathered for the annual Recognition & Scholarship Luncheon.  The food was richly unique and the décor was eye-popping for those of those new to the venue.  The WBEs 15 mini-trade fair booths added the business networking opportunity we all have come to expect from our organization.  ExxonMobil sponsored this event with 13 additional corporate table sponsors in attendance.  We were also fortunate to have the legendary jazz vibraphonist, Harry Sheppard, entertain us with his golden-toned mallets and extraordinary musicianship.  The enthusiastic crowd of over 225 people laughed and applauded as recognition awards for the Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, Scholarship Recipients, Star Award Winner, and Cutting Edge Awards were presented.  The beautiful awards and table gifts were generously donated by Metromarketing Services.

Scholarship recipients were chosen from over 20 WBE applicants which was nearly double the number of applicants for 2005.  Money for these scholarships comes from proceeds raised for the EXPO raffle, EXPO silent auction, Golf raffle, Golf silent auction, and other WBEA events throughout the year.  Our heartfelt thanks also go to the Silver and Bronze corporate contributors that made our scholarship fund sizeable enough for 16 scholarships to be awarded.  The scholarships are for the continuing education of our WBEs learning and growth in business.

Consider applying for a scholarship for you or your staff next year.  Information on WBEA scholarships can be found on the web site at www.wbea-texas.org. 

by Sandra Fidelman, Fidelco