December 08, 2009
Media Advisory -- Operation Bootstrap
Operation Bootstrap will hold its third graduation ceremony of 2009 this week, and when it’s over, the business training program will have 99 graduates to show for its first year.
Operation Bootstrap is a collaborative effort from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in partnership with the Delta Regional Authority. The graduation ceremony and awards presentation is set for 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, in the Dunn Richmond Economic Development Center, 150 E. Pleasant Hill Road in Carbondale. During the 5:30 p.m. awards ceremony, up to 20 of the 34 December graduates could get $3,000 in business development grant funding.
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the ceremony.
With sponsorship from the SIUC Office of Economic and Regional Development’s Entrepreneurship and Business Development Unit, Operation Bootstrap offered a two-month training program to those interested in starting a new business or formalizing a business they already have. Participants from all over Southern Illinois created individual business plans, studied business viability and learned how to make a business succeed.
To learn more about the graduation/awards ceremony or the Southern Illinois Entrepreneurship Center, contact Robyn Laur Russell at 618/453-3805 or by e-mail at rrussell@biz.siu.edu.