Fall FastTrac Grads To Be Honored Dec. 4

The John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship at Baylor University will honor graduates of its fall 2000 FastTrac NewVenture Program at a graduation reception at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Building at the Hankamer School of Business.
FastTrac NewVenture graduates are individuals who are planning to start new businesses or whose companies are in the start-up phase. The nine-week entrepreneurship training program is designed to allow participants to explore the potential of their business idea.
Also to be honored are 31 Baylor students who have completed internships at the companies represented by the FastTrac graduates and at other Central Texas companies. The interns' responsibilities include assisting the businesses in research or web page design.
Program speakers will include Jack Stewart, president of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, who will serve as master of ceremonies; Rick Bostwick, chairman of the Waco Foundation; Mary Abrahams, FastTrac program coordinator; J. David Allen, director of the John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship; Dr. Terry Maness, dean of the Hankamer School of Business; and Rob Gibson and Keen Franklin, who are FastTrac NewVenture business counselors.
A national program geared toward aspiring and current entrepreneurs, FastTrac has been holding classes in Waco since 1986. The program is co-sponsored by Baylor's Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship, the City of Waco and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with McLennan Community College, Small Business Development Center/Business Resource Center, Texas State Technical College, Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Heart of Texas Black Chamber of Commerce. The instructor for the FastTrac NewVenture Program is David Hoffman, owner of Thera-Med Inc.
FastTrac NewVenture graduates to be honored during the program include: Allison Brooks, Heirloom Rescue; Deborah Fugitt, Dogwood Blossoms; Melinda Herzog, Strategic Solutions; Angela Martin, Bakery, Grill and Deli; Jeff Morgan, Metro Computrek; Rickie Muniz, Muniz Advertising and Design; Joyceline Scott, Heaven's Gate Christian Book Store; Larry Traudt, American Leadership Institute; Laura Trotter, Eccentric Notions; and Stephen Williams, Practical Preservation.
Student intern honorees include: Annie Chan, Kelli Blackmon, Danielle Jayne, Fahad Amin, Edwin Cheshire, Christa Eyl, Jonathan Thompson, James Lyons, Nicholas Nordman, Neal Nichols, Charles Stone, Brett Gontarek, Matthew Lasiter, Andy Allen, Andy White, Kenneth Ngai, Craig Fuller, Chap Smith, Hugh Birkland, Brock Talley, Laura Bateman, Dancy Armstrong, Cody Robertson, Nick Palmarozzi, Scott Balo, Ashly Stanchak, Jordan Curruth, George Page, R.J. Sikes and Matt Willis.
For more information about the FastTrac spring sessions beginning Jan. 16, or information about the program, contact Malinda Green at (254) 710-4157.