CAN BE’s executive director to speak at national conference
CAN BE Executive Director Jack St. Pierre has been invited to speak at the National Business Incubation Association’s International Conference on Business Incubation being held April 10 to 13 in San Jose, Calif.
CAN BE is a nonprofit division of CAN DO Inc. and operates the area’s business incubator, the Greater Hazleton Business Innovation Center in Valmont Industrial Park, West Hazleton.
St. Pierre is co-presenting a session entitled “Incubator Boards Matter” on working effectively with boards of directors and advisory committees for business incubators. His co-presenters are Joel Wiggins, former president of the NBIA and president and chief executive officer of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County in Lenexa, Kansas, and Marie Longserre, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Business Incubator in Santa Fe, N.M.
“I appreciate the opportunity to share my experiences with fellow entrepreneurs during the conference. I have found the knowledge I’ve learned at past conferences to be very helpful and I hope that others can come away with some valuable information from my presentation,” said St. Pierre, who also spoke at the NBIA’s annual conference in 2008. Additionally, he serves as a speaker to small-business classes at Penn State Hazleton and local civic organizations.
The International Conference on Business Incubation is NBIA’s largest gathering each year. The conference draws a diverse audience of incubator staff, economic development professionals, educators, researchers and other entrepreneur support practitioners from around the world. During the conference, individuals participate in in-depth workshops, educational sessions, incubator tours and informal discussions. Through these training and networking opportunities, attendees learn about incubator sustainability, entrepreneur services, client funding options, industry best practices and more.
St. Pierre founded a plastics manufacturing business in the Hazleton area in 1986 and has more than 40 years of experience in business, including manufacturing, sales and marketing. As CAN BE’s executive director, he offers his experience and advice to startup businesses in the incubator.
The CAN BE incubator program helps establish new business and industry for the area, giving local entrepreneurs the keys to turn their ideas into ventures that will become successful firms able to function on their own. Companies that “graduate” from an incubator program have the potential to create new jobs, commercialize new technologies and strengthen the local economy.
St. Pierre’s participation in the NBIA conference is sponsored by PPL Electric Utilities and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
For more information on the incubator program, call CAN BE at (570) 455-8334 or visit www.canbe.biz.