[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  WOMEN'S BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER'S CELEBRATING 20 YEARS CREATING 
   SUCCESSFUL WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES 1986-2006 CELEBRATING THE PAST 
                         CHALLENGING THE FUTURE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2006

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, the Women's Business Development 
Center (WBDC) is a nationally recognized nonprofit women's business 
assistance organization, devoted to providing services and programs 
that support and accelerate women's business ownership and strengthen 
the impact of women on the economy.
  The year 2006 marks the beginning of the third decade of the WBDC's 
successful commitment to meeting the needs of women entrepreneurs for 
greater opportunities in business ownership. Founded in 1986 by S. 
Carol Dougal and Hedy M. Ratner, more than 50,000 women in Illinois 
have benefited from its programs and services including counseling, 
entrepreneurial training, child care business development, 
strengthening of emerging businesses, Latina Initiative providing 
business development programs in Spanish in economically disadvantaged 
communities, certification and business opportunities for women's 
business enterprises and financial assistance and loan packaging.
  The WBDC has worked for 20 years to economically empower women and 
their families, striving to influence the larger political and economic 
environment in a way that encourages and supports women's economic 
empowerment and minority business development.
  The WBDC has affected the national women's business landscape helping 
to establish women's business assistance centers in six states. Now 
there are over 10.6 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., 
employing over 19.1 million workers, and over 350,000 of those 
businesses are in Illinois. Minority-owned businesses are growing 
faster than all firms, and 1 in 5 women-owned firms in the U.S. is 
owned by a woman of color. Women-owned businesses nationally generate 
over $2.46 trillion in sales.
  In 2006 the Women's Business Development Center celebrates its 20th 
anniversary. As the Center moves into its third decade of service to 
women business owners and outstanding advocacy for the strengthening 
and support of minority and women owned businesses, I am proud to 
recognize its impressive achievements.

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