Press Release
Contact: Robert Caudle |
Phone: (919) 549-7500 ext.107 |
CED-Coastal Celebrates One Year Anniversary
Divisional Office Hits First-Year Milestone and Sets Future Direction
July 20, 2006, Research Triangle Park, NC –The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today announced the one-year anniversary of its merger with the Coastal Entrepreneurial Council of Wilmington, NC. The merger created CED-Coastal, a divisional office focused on entrepreneurial development in Wilmington and throughout North Carolina’s entire coastal region.
During its first year, CED-Coastal hired a regional director and expanded organizational partnerships and programming in the greater Wilmington area. In addition, CED’s annual Opportunity conference attracted a record number of entrepreneurs and investors to downtown Wilmington in November 2005.
“As we begin year two as a combined organization, we remain convinced this was a dynamic move benefiting both the Wilmington business community and entrepreneurs throughout the region,” said CED President Monica Doss. “This merger has provided us the opportunity to showcase Wilmington businesses in other parts of the state, and bring our additional resources to Wilmington and the coastal region.”
“In the past year we have continued to offer networking and educational workshops, and will significantly expand those programs in our new fiscal year that is just starting. Many of our local companies have taken advantage of other CED events, like their Venture and Biotech conferences,” said Gene Haley, President of the CED-Coastal Advisory Board. “With CED’s support, we have been able to retain Amber Zentis as our regional director, and will soon occupy office space in downtown Wilmington. We have significant momentum to generate a positive impact on successful business growth.”
CED is in the planning stages for its fourth annual Opportunity conference, which will be held at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside on December 4-5. This year’s event will feature high-level keynote speakers, information for both emerging and existing companies, and provide a unique networking opportunity with angel investors, other entrepreneurs and service providers.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. CED is the largest and oldest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. In July 2005, Wilmington’s Coastal Entrepreneurial Council merged with CED to create CED-Coastal, a divisional office focused on entrepreneurial development in Wilmington and throughout North Carolina’s entire coastal region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. www.cednc.org
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