1.  Affecting a National Agenda:  Patrick Lozes, President/CEO of the French African Diaspora Chamber of Commerce, made an historical move last year.  He announced his candidacy for the Presidency of France.  His platform was very simple but extremely dynamic – he became the Diversity Candidate.  France has long ignored its diverse population and Patrick brought it into every living room.  As his candidacy came to a close a few months ago, fellow candidate Francois Hollande incorporated diversity into his platform.  His ads have Blacks and Asians in them and more of them joined his campaign staff.  He even used some hip-hop music in some of his background music.  Meanwhile, incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy made no change to his platform.  Amazingly, the tide turned and now with a few days left challenger Hollande is ahead in all polls.  The election is Sunday and this may become a race where the subject of Diversity was a deciding factor.  Patrick Lozes, you are our hero!  France is better because of your vision, leadership and courage.

2.  Fighting for EXIM Funding: There are some in congress who believe that there is no need to reauthorize the US Export-Import Bank.  Little do they know that this capital source plays a critical role in the global marketplace.  US corporations, large and small, rely on the EXIM funding source to complete their transactions and create more jobs.  Yes, this administration has abused it some but that does not make the institution totally tainted.  Here is our OP-ED on the subject that appeared in the Financial Times on May 2, 2012.

3.  More and More Sponsors: We are proud to add AT&T and MasterCard to our list of confirmed sponsors for our 20^th Annual Convention, July 19 – 21^st in Atlanta, GA.  We invite all others to consider this great marketing opportunity and justifiable support.