Make Mine a Million $ Business™ Names Carolina Winners

Mary Cantando, one of the key coordinators for the North Carolina Make Mine a Million $ Business™ (www.makemineamillion.org) event, announced the award winners for the event held on Oct. 7 at the Blake Hotel. Finalists were asked to deliver a business pitch to women entrepreneurs, judges and guests at the event and ten of them were selected to receive the award package. Women from both North and South Carolina were eligible for the event. The winners are as follows:

• Jan Allison, Carolina On-Site Fleet Services, Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C.
• Kristie Byrum, Byrum Innovation Group, Inc., Greenville, S.C.
• Elizabeth Casazza, AquaVida USA, Ocean Isle, N.C.
• Barbra Denison, Cranky Creative Group, Durham, N.C.
• Virginia Jones, Kinetic Electric Group LLC, Laurinburg, N.C.
• Lia Lucero, Showpiece Enterprises, Inc., Cornelius, N.C.
• Carrie Dewitt-Partello, East Coast Moving LLC, Shallotte, N.C.
• Dr. Angela Bright Pearson, Bright Audiology, Sanford, N.C.
• Zoe Schmidinger, Maple’s Leather Furniture Inc., Sugar Mountain, N.C.
• Lisa Shock, Roxboro Family Medicine & Immediate Care, Roxboro, N.C.

Awardees will receive coaching from Count Me In™, a platinum business cash rebate credit card from American Express OPENSM, consultations from AIG® and more. The Make Mine a Million $ Business™ program provides women entrepreneurs with the opportunity to expand their businesses to more than a million dollars in annual revenue.

The Carolinas Make Mine A Million event was a day of speakers, workshops and other programs to encourage women business owners to grow their business to a million dollars in revenue. Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall were the keynote speakers.

Related Links:
www.makemineamillion.org
www.mmimarketing.com

News Facts:

• Mary Cantando, one of the key coordinators for the North Carolina Make Mine a Million $ Business™ (www.makemineamillion.org) announced the award winners for the event on Oct. 7 at the Blake Hotel.
• Finalists were asked to deliver a business pitch to women entrepreneurs, judges and guests at the event and ten of them were selected to receive the award package.
• Women from both North and South Carolina were eligible for the event.
• Awardees will receive coaching from Count Me In™, a platinum business cash rebate credit card from American Express OPENSM, consultations from AIG® and more.
• The Make Mine a Million $ Business™ program provides women entrepreneurs with the opportunity to expand their businesses to more than a million dollars in annual revenue.
• The Carolinas Make Mine A Million event was a day of speakers, workshops and other programs to encourage women business owners to grow their business to a million dollars in revenue.
• Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall were the keynote speakers.


Quotes:
"We are excited that our event was successful and of course, for our award winners," said Nell Merlino, founder and president of Count Me In. "The small business sector grows with the success of our female entrepreneurs so that they not only help themselves and other women; they are integral to the American economy."

"Our award winners could not be more deserving or inspirational," said Cantando. "The Make Mine a Million $ Business™ benefits from the example of these women and they encourage more women to grow their business to a million dollars in revenue."

About Make Mine A Million $ Business™:
Make Mine a Million $ Business™, a program of Count Me In and founding partner, American Express OPENSM, provides women entrepreneurs with the opportunity to expand their businesses by generating more than a million dollars in annual revenue. A unique nationwide program that provides money, mentoring and marketing opportunities to help businesses grow from micro to millions, the goal of Make Mine a Million $ Business™ is to lead one million women entrepreneurs in the effort to reach annual revenues of one million dollars by 2010. North Carolina hosted the state’s first Make Mine a Million $ Business™ event on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at the Blake Hotel in Charlotte. For more information please visit www.makemineamillion.org or call (212) 245-1245.

Keywords:
Make Mine a Million $ Business™, Mary Cantando, Count Me In, Charlotte, Blake Hotel, Woman Business Owner, Woman Entrepreneur, Nell Merlino, Bev Perdue, AIG®, American Express OPENSM, Jan Allison, Carolina On-Site Fleet Services, Inc., Elizabeth Casazza, AquaVida USA, Zoe Schmidinger, Maple’s Leather Furniture Inc., Virginia Jones, Kinetic Electric Group LLC, Lisa Shock, Roxboro Family Medicine & Immediate Care, Lia Lucero, Showpiece Enterprises, Inc., Dr. Angela Bright Pearson, Bright Audiology, Barbra Denison, Cranky Creative Group, Kristie Byrum, Byrum Innovation Group, Inc., Carrie Dewitt-Partello, East Coast Moving LLC, Shallote, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Cornelius, N.C., Roxboro, N.C., Laurinburg, N.C., Sugar Mountain, N.C., Ocean Isle, N.C., Winston Salem, N.C.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

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