WASHINGTON – United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu, D-La., will host a Small Business Outreach Conference in Alexandria, La., on Monday, August 10, 2009. The event is intended to assist small business owners looking to use federal and state small business assistance programs. The Committee will work with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Louisiana Economic Development (LED) to provide brief overviews of SBA lending programs, federal contracting opportunities, LED’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program and other programs to help small businesses maintain and grow their businesses in this tough economic climate.

Officials from the SBA, LED and Louisiana Small Business Development Centers will join Sen. Landrieu’s staff, which includes Staff Director and Chief Legal Counsel Donald Cravins, Jr., a former State Senator from Louisiana, to discuss top concerns for entrepreneurs. The Committee held several similar outreach conferences in Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans and plans to hold additional outreach conferences in other parts of the state in the coming months.

“Small business owners and entrepreneurs are looking to Washington for answers on how to remain viable as we push forward in this troubled economy,” Sen. Landrieu said. “It is important for us to be there to guide businesses in Louisiana and throughout the country because our economic future depends on their success. Similar outreach conferences in other parts of the state have been very well-attended and I hope the people of the Alexandria area will take advantage of having easy access to these organizations.”

The details for the Alexandria Small Business Outreach Conference are as follows:

Monday, August 10, 2009
Registration at 8:00 am. CDT; Program runs from 9:00 am. – 12:00 p.m.
The Learning Center for Rapides Parish
England Airpark
1410 Neel Kearby Boulevard
Alexandria, La. 71303