HUNTSVILLE – The North Alabama African-American Chamber of Commerce (NAAACC) will hold the 18th annual Business Opportunity Conference and Expo at the Von Braun Center on Sept. 12.

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At the awards luncheon, the feature speaker will be H. Beecher Hicks III, a partner with Red Clay Investments and former president of Gray Line of Tennessee, the state’s largest private motor coach operator.

President Bill Clinton appointed Hicks as a White House Fellow. In this capacity Hicks launched the AmeriCorps Promise Fellows program. In Nashville, he is co-chairman of the mayor’s business response team and president/CEO of the National Museum of African American Music, now in development.

“The 2013 conference marks a special time for the black chamber,” conference chairperson Lyscelle Reyes said. “The organization will celebrate 20 years of service to small businesses and community.”

At 8 a.m., public sessions will open with the U.S. Census Bureau and an Alabama economic update from the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama.

Other workshops and panel discussions will explore home-based business opportunities, successful serial entrepreneurs and youth entrepreneurs.

Event sponsors to-date include Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Alabama International Trade Center, Huntsville Housing Authority, Organo Gold and Order My Steps Travel. More than 50 exhibitors will participate. Organizers will announce additional speakers at the conference.

The NAAACC is dedicated to the economic development, job creation and advocacy for future growth and success of member businesses and the community at-large. The chamber is one of five affiliates of the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce.

The event is free to the public. Registration is requested. For more information, call 256-564-7574 or visit naaachamber.org.