Walton Beach, Florida: National ACE Met with Government Officials and Small Business Owners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2022
ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS MEET WITH LEGISLATORS IN FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA TO DISCUSS THE STATE AND FUTURE OF AAPI BUSINESSES
[March 11, 2022, Fort Walton Beach, Florida] – The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE) alongside affiliate partner, the HSU Educational Foundation, hosted an AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable for Asian American and Pacific Islander small business owners to discuss the current state of business in Florida.
“Our business community continues to face many challenges. Asian American and Pacific Islander small business owners have battled both COVID-19 and a sharp spike in discrimination and violence. Our policymakers play a significant role in protecting our community, allowing our small businesses to operate safely, and creating prosperity,” said National ACE CEO/President Chiling Tong. “This conversation will help policymakers to understand the unmet needs of our community so we can find solutions. National ACE looks forward to working with the HSU Educational Foundation in Florida to advance solutions that will help our economy move forward.”
Police Chief Robert Bage of Fort Walton Beach expressed support for the AAPI small business community by saying that “small businesses are the backbone of our community.” On the topic of rising anti-Asian hate crimes, Chief Bage shared that the police force takes hate crimes seriously and does their best to thoroughly investigate any reported incidents.
Michelle Ryce, an AAPI small business owner and Managing Partner of Executive Air, touched on the difficulty of retaining labor during the pandemic. Ryce said she wanted to address this challenge by “creating an environment where people wanted to work.”
The AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable is an open forum for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander business owners in the United States to connect with policymakers, corporate sponsors, and community leaders to find solutions for the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses today.
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About National ACE
National ACE’s mission is to serve as a strong advocate of AAPI business interests and positive change on all issues that enhance and advance the goals and aspirations of AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders. National ACE strives to do this through supporting and promoting issues that impact the AAPI business community, improving the economic development and economic impact of the AAPI community, advancing coalitions and enhancing community building, and fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and executives. National ACE provides a unified voice for the business interests of AAPIs nationally. Learn more at www.nationalace.org or www.aapistrong.com.
PRESS CONTACT:
Janet Alikpala
Jalikpala@nationalace.org
312-217-4369