The year is drawing to an end and our work is just beginning. We completed our classes at the Houston Area Women's Center (HAWC) on December 9. Thanks to Rozanne Barone, Karen Carter, Kathy Jones, Irene Bradley, Phil Black and Deborah Mendez who did a spectacular job teaching our business classes. The courses were filled with women eager to learn the basics of starting a small business. Some of the women discovered they had common interests or complementary business ideas suitable for partnerships in the future. Each left with many ideas for putting their ideas into practice. Thanks to Donna Lucas at HAWC for her work coordinating the classes.

If the bill was issued during the previous eight years, it bears the signature of Ana Escobedo Cabral, Treasurer of the United States. UBI volunteers and clients attended a panel discussion and luncheon hosted by Money Week Houston. Ms. Cabral was kind enough to pose for a photo and autograph some bills for us after the luncheon at the University of Houston. Representatives from the Federal Reserve, Small Business Administration (SBA), FDIC, Harris County Department of Education, and the University of Houston were on hand to discuss the importance of financial education. Small business owner and UBI client Gulnar Karim made many important contacts and learned more about opportunites for her medical uniform business.

Looking forward