Arizona Business Owner Association Holds Important Meeting
By Yousuf Bhuvad
Glimpses of the Arizona Business Owner Association function
The Arizona Business Owner Association (ABOA) held its meeting at Salt ‘n Pepper Restaurant in Mesa on January 27, 2009. A large number of ABOA members, vendors and business partners attended the meeting. The guest list also included key elected officials from the State and the city of Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.
Fatima Hanif served as a moderator. She introduced the office bearers of the Associations and thanked the VIPs for their presence.
Representing the 7-Eleven Corporation, Tariq Khan commended the formation of ABOA as the right step in highlighting and resolving the issues of small business owners in the community. Shahid Hanif, president of ABOA, thanked the audience for their participation in this very important meeting.
Arif Kazmi, a prominent community activist, introduced each VIP and elected official who came to attend this event.
Jack Purvais, the union activist and recent past Chair of the Legislative District 21 of Chandler and partial Mesa areas, thanked the Association for the invitation and pledged his support. Mike Conway, member of Arizona Education Board of Directors for Area 2, a professional teacher and 2nd Vice Chair of Legislative District 18, talked about the role of small business owners in supporting the surrounding communities. Kit Filbey, an Obama delegate, GEMDEMS board member, and Former 2nd Vice Chair of Maricopa County Democrats, thanked ABOA and pledged her support.
Among the other honorable guests who spoke on the occasion were Mesa Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh, Sam Wercinski, the Chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party and Kyrsten Sinema, state Representative from central Phoenix, District 15.
Kyrsten Sinema spoke about the challenges that the state is facing because of a huge budget deficit. Despite running lean and mean, the State is looking to cut many education programs. She urged the audience to get involved.
The business part of the program continued with each vendor coming to the podium and introducing his/her products and services. The program ended after a brief social hour.
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