The Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust’s (MDEAT) Economic Development Action Committee disbursed checks of $5,000 to ten local businesses! The grant monies were part of the Miami Gardens Business Stimulus Grant Initiative Project to help stimulate growth and development for ten minority businesses to expand and/or remain within the City of Miami Gardens. More than 50 businesses applied for the grant. The award money can be used to upgrade the company’s equipment, technology, or offset operating expenses. In addition, all grant awarded businesses are required to receive business training provided by The Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce in the areas of information technology, legal assistance, marketing, and accounting.
Mayor Shirley Gibson and District 1 Commissioner Barbara Jordan were both in attendance to congratulate the award winners. MDEAT Executive Director John Dixon credited Mayor Gibson with being the principal who spearheaded bringing the program into Miami Gardens. “Many of these businesses have been here since before our incorporation. They are weathering the economic storm; they haven’t left us. We should be there for them too,” said Mayor Gibson.
The award winners are: Always Watching Investigations; Bunche Park Auto and Truck Repairs; Leiter, Perez and Associates, Inc.; Lulu’s Carwash; Majestic Vision; New Light Tax & Consulting; Rolle and Roberts Investigations; South Florida Center for Family Counseling Corp.; Suvidy, Inc.; and The Dress Code.
“Let’s bring the green back into the community,” said Commissioner Jordan. Miami Dade Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Diggs, also a speaker at the presentation, offered this sage advice for entrepreneurs, “All it takes, is all you’ve got.”
