Business Focus 1
Briefs
Boycott supporters get
boost from church group
CINCINNATI (AP) - Supporters of the econom
ic boycott of Cincinnati received a major boost to
their efforts when a national black church group can
celed plans to hold its annual meeting in the city this
summer.
Leaders of the Progressive National Baptist Con
vention said Saturday that the black church group
will hold its 10.000 member session in another city to
be announced later.
"It's unfortunate, but there just is no indication
the city is serious about addressing the issues of
racial justice this city faces," said the Rev. Otis Moss,
a member of the church's executive committee.
The call for a boycott began after riots broke out
in April when a white police officer fatally shot an
unarmed black man who was fleeing police on traffic
charges and on charges that he had run from police
before.
"They have seen firsthand that the city hasn't
been willing to make substantive change and they
don't want to bring people here to be exposed to this
kind of climate," the Rev. Damon Lynch III said Sat
urday.
Lynch is president of the Cincinnati Slack United
Front, one of the two main groups pushing the boy
cott.
City officials had expected the weeklong conven
tion to bring millions of dollars to city businesses,
and Mayor Charlie Luken said the city did everything
it could to persuade the group to keep the meeting in
Cincinnati.
In a statement released Saturday night. Progres
sive National Baptist leaders said they will consider a
return to Cincinnati "if the hostile racial climate in
Cincinnati is resolved and economic parity for the
African-American community is attained."
The church group, which had earlier indicated
that it would hold the convention as planned, was the
latest in a growing number of groups and individuals
choosing to honor the boycott.
Earlier, entertainers Bill Cosby. Wynton Marsalis.
the O'Jays and the Temptations canceled performanc
es. Those cancellations led the Cincinnati Arts Asso
ciation last month to threaten a lawsuit against the
Coalition for a Just Cincinnati, another major advo
cate of the boycott.
E -procurement session to be held
RALEIGH - A special e-procurement training
session has been planned especially for you if you
own a business, and you are a minority, w^fman or a
person with a disability, and you would like to com
pete for contracting opportunities with the state of
North Carolina.
Representatives from such businesses, designat
ed as historically underutilized businesses or HUBs,
are invited to attend a HUB e-procurement training
session in Winston-Salem on Monday, March 25.
The training is sponsored by the Office for Histori
cally Underutilized Businesses in the N.C. Depart
ment of Administration.
Sessions are intended to raise awareness of the
state's new e-procurement system, explain how the
e-procurement process works, educate the HUB ven
dor community on the importance of Utilizing the
new e-procurement system, and register new ven
dors in the e-procurement and e-quote systems. The
HUB vendors in the Triad are being targeted for this
training session.
The training session, one of seven to be held
statewide, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon in the
Mazie Woodruff Center Building on the campus of
Forsyth Technical Community College, 4905 Lans
ing Drive. Winston-Salem. To register online, com
plete the HUB Office's electronic registration mate
rial at www.doa.state.nc.us/hub. Pre-registration is
recommended.
"This training session will provide a better
understanding for HUB vendors interested in utiliz
ing the e-procurement and e-quote system." accord
ing to Bridget Wall, assistant to the secretary for
HUB outreach. "The session will educate HUB ven
dors on the benefits of the new procurement system.
In addition, on-site registration will be available to
new vendors in an effort to increase their opportuni
ties w ith the state. As a result of more HUB vendors
registering through the e-procurement system, pur
chasing officials, construction project managers and
general contractors will be able to identify and have
better access to HUB vendors."
BB&T appoints new auditor
BB&T Corp. yesterday named Pricewater
houseCoopers LLP as its independent auditor for
2002. The decision by BB&T's board of directors
to change auditors follows last week's indictment
of Arthur Andersen LLP by a federal grand jury.
Andersen had been BB&T's auditor since 1966.
BB&T reappointed Andersen at its January
board meeting after a careful evaluation and thor
ough review of the team assigned to BB&T. How
ever. at the time of that decision. BB&T said it
would continue to follow the Enron situation as
well as monitor Andersen's status and reputation
and would reconsider its reappointment if new
developments called for a change.
Scott E. Reed. BB&T's chief financial officer,
said. "Our earlier decision to retain Andersen was
based on the performance and professionalism of
those Andersen employees who''have worked with
us through the years ...Obviously, this latest devel
opment necessitates that we reconsider our previ
ous decision. We have to do what we believe is best
for our shareholders and our company. Pricewater
houseCoopers is a highly respected firm with sub
stantial expertise in the financial services indus
try..."
I New Gig I
Weatherproof Garment Co. has signed "Today Show" weatherman Al Roker to appear in a series
of print advertisements under the tagline "lfm weatherproofed." The ads will appear In mafor
newspapers, magazines, and in select outdoor advertising beginning this month.
Procter &
Gamble
Fund
*
pledges
$1 million
Campaign strives to
strengthen technology
capabilities at
black universities
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
CINCINNATI - Continuing
its longtime support of black
higher education. The Procter &
Gamble Fund has pledged $1
million to United Negro College
Fund's Technology Enhancement .
Capital Campaign (TECC), a .
multimillion dollar initiative to
strengthen technology capabili
ties at UNCF member colleges
and universities.
John Pepper, chairman of the
board at Procter & Gamble and
P&G Fund trustee, described the
company's commitment to
TECC as an investment with -
great potential for tremendous
return.
"The College Fund has a
tremendous track record of turn
ing corporate dollars into tangible
benefits for UNCF scholars,"
Pepper said. "Identifying prob
lems, developing solutions and ?
implementing change are hall
marks for UNCF, which makes it
a pleasure for P&G to support the
College Fund anyway we can."
Through the TECC initiative, J
technology platforms at the 39 ?
UNCF schools will be revamped -
and modernized, and all students, T
faculty and staff will have greater "
access to the latest in computer i
technology and online services. "
UNCF developed the initiative to J
address the "digital divide" "i
between predominantly white ?
colleges and historically black 2
colleges and universities J
(HBCUs).
Pepper, who also serves on i
the UNCF board of directors, *
added that the increasing reliance *
on technology in nearly every ?
aspect of daily life magnifies the I
significance of the TECC initia- J
tivt.
'Technology, like many of C
the products produced by P&G.
can help improve fives every day. -
but must be Widely accessible."
Pepper said. "We're confident Z
that this UNCF initiative will
make that possible for thousands
of deserving students."
3Mth a goal of $80 million,
the UNCF 11BCC campaign is
well oft its Way to success. Near
ty $70 million has been raised so
far. according to UNCF President
and CEO William H. Gray III.
See Procter on A9
Black Entertainment Television
moving from Harlem to midtown
Debra Lee
RangeI
BY LARRY MCSHANE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Tw o years
after arriving in Harlem with
great fanfare. Black Entertain
ment Television announced it
was swapping its uptown digs for
a-midtown address - much to the
chagrin of African-American
business and political leaders.
"We were disappointed about
the news." Terry Lane, chief
executive-of the Upper Manmit
tan Empowerment Zone, said
Thursday. "Given the culturally
specific programming that BET
does, it seemed, logical that
Harlem would be its home."
Instead, the black-oriented
network was relocating to the
CBS Broadcast Center on West
57th Street after breaking off
negotiations for a bigger space
about 20 blocks north of its cur
rent Harlem location.
Both CBS and B?T are
owned by Viacom, which pur
chased Black Entertainment
Television in November 2000 for
nearly $5 billion.
"Harlem had a great pride in
its selection by BET." said U.S.
Rep. Charles Range!, whose dis
trict includes the neighborhood.
"There's no question that we.
more than CBS or downtown,
exemplify what the station is
supposed to stand for."
City officials were in talks
with BET to anchor its Gotham
Pla/.a projtct at 125th Street and
Lexington Avenue. The new
location would have included a
street-level studio similar to
those of NBC in Rockefeller
Center or ABC in Times Square
and expanded on the current
space at 106th Street and Park
Avenue.
"I thought it was a done
deal." Rangel said of that plan.
"We did all the celebrating as
though it had happened."
But Lane said officials at the
empowerment zone - which had
helped lure BET uptown two
years ago with a variety of tax
breaks - discovered the network
was breaking off talks through a
news release.
BET had initially moved to
Harlem several months before
the Viacom purchase.
Attempts to reach BET offi
cials about resuscitating the
Harlem plan were unsuccessful,
both Lane and Rangel said. A
BET spokesman did not return
calls for comment.
In a statement. BET president
and chief operating officer Debra
Lee said the network would
"continue to look for program
ming opportunities in Harlem
when feasible."
The network also will
"remain open to the possibility of
office space and production facil
ilies in Harlem should our future
business needs dictate additional
expansion." Lee said. No
timetable for the move down
town was announced. 1
The network said its move
was necessary to find more space
for its news and music programs.
That did little to assuage the hard
feelings of supporters of the
abandoned Harlem studio.
"We are." Rangel said, "terri
bly disappointed."