September 22, 2021 – This evening at Richland Community College was the final night of the five-week Minority Mentor Protege Program, an entrepreneurial mindset workshop.
The workshop was hosted by Jeremy and Juanita Morris as well as Dr. Isaac Zuniga. The guest speaker for the final evening was David Schrock, Director of Membership and Marketing for the Decatur Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Schrock discussed the Chamber’s mission, benefits to the community, and purpose, and following his speech was a discussion about the Chamber and minority-owned businesses.
When asked what was covered over the length of the five-week program, Jeremy Morris said, “We focused on eight pillars, choice, opportunity, action, knowledge, wealth, brand, community and persistence…and we try to instill the entrepreneurial mindset into all of our participants, giving them the tools they need to either own their own business, start their own business, or follow their passion or their true calling.”
When asked why programs like these are important in communities, Dr. Zuniga responded with, “From my perspective, it really adds value. Owning your own business, especially someone of a minority classification, it really helps diversify the business world. So when you think about diversity and equity, being able to move forward initiatives to help change situations for the present and for the future is so impactful and it starts with being actionable and making sure that you have a plan, you know what resources are available for you to execute that plan, and that you build a support system to help you with that journey.”
Another cohort begins on October 13th. If you would like to register, information is available here.
Below is the full interview with Jeremy Morris and Dr. Isaac Zuniga.
