Natasha Conley and James Rogers (right to left) at the St. Louis Business Opportunity Fair sponsored by The St. Louis Minority Business Council.

PSRI participated in the St. Louis Minority Business Council “Business Opportunity Fair” on June 15, 2006.  The theme for this year was “Stepping Up to the Plate for Progress”.  Many major companies in the St. Louis area participated including -- but not limited to -- IBM, Daimler Chrysler, and Monsanto.

The Fair provided opportunities to network with Minority Business Enterprises throughout the metropolitan St. Louis area.  Festivities included a breakfast, luncheon, trade show, and business-to-business meetings.  PSRI staff attended all the events and was especially pleased to meet U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II and Stan O’Neal of Merrill Lynch & Company.  Congressman Cleaver, Pastor of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri  was the first African-American mayor of Kansas City.  Stan O’Neal was the guest speaker for the luncheon and is CEO of Merrill Lynch & Company, a trillion-dollar financial management firm with offices in nearly 40 countries.