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LOUISVILLE BLACK BUSINESSOWNERS COME TOGETHER!NOIR Black Business Social Club, Inc. isa new Louisville-based organization witha mission to bring African and African-American small business owners together tonetwork, collaborate, and strengthen theirbusinesses to give back to the community.According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), entrepreneurshipwithin minority groups has increased, and datafrom a 2016 SBA report indicates minorities own 29% of U.S.businesses and that number more than doubled between 2002and 2012. Unfortunately, minority-owned businesses still lackaccess to financial and business resources as well as support.NOIR was established in October of 2018 when Founder andPresident, John Howard Shaw-Woo, realized there were noexisting organizations in Kentucky that specifically focus onsupporting small black businesses. Shaw-Woo is a self-proclaimed,philantropreneur and has founded successful projectsin the nonprofit community including The West Louisville eco-HUB Arts Community Inc. to support educational programmingfor at-risk youth, and the Kentucky Poverty Initiative, Inc.(formerly GFoundation, Inc.) with the mission of creating innovativeprograms that uplift Kentuckians and break the cycleof poverty.Shaw-Woo, along with friends and colleagues created NOIR asa networking platform where members meet monthly to learnfrom special speakers and lecturers on specific business topicsranging from marketing, social media, technology, financialplanning, accounting, business development, Human Resourcesmanagement, benefits providers, and many more.Shaw-Woo stated, “Helping small businesses become MinorityBusiness Enterprise (MBE) [National Minority Supplier DevelopmentCouncil] certified is one of the organization’s highestpriorities, followed by understanding the economic and politicallandscape of Louisville and Kentucky in order to grow theirbusinesses.”NOIR is governed by an Executive Board including Shaw-Wooserving as President; Marcus Forward, Vice President andthe owner of Personal Options Healthcare the only VeteranHealthcare services in Kentucky; Michelle Rae Hicks, Secretaryand owner of the Old Louisville Chili Bowl restaurant andfounder of Louisville Integrated Care a multi behavioral, mental,and social health networkof services; and Blair Butler,Treasurer, retired JCPS AssistantPrincipal and founder of thenonprofit Lovie’s House, Inc. foryoung men aging out of fostercare in Kentucky.57VOMÉNOIR meets every third Thursday of the month in the eveningat a designated location to discuss and help solve issuesand to plan future activities. In addition, every quarter is asocial event with members and spouses.NOIR signature events include a signature event called TheBlack Ball and an Annual Members Trip. The Black Ball willserve as an annual fundraising and friend-raising event toshowcase the organization, its mission, and activities. Proceedsfrom the event will fund the NOIR Scholarship Fundwhich will award financial benefits to non-college boundstudents to further their non-traditional educational endeavors.Membership into NOIR is by invitation but interestedbusinesses owners can send an email expressing interestto info@noirky.com. Membership is limited to approximately30 in 2019 unless there is a tremendous amount of interest,and the annual cost of membership to NOIR is $250per year, which helps defer the costs of lectures, meetingspaces, and activities. Currently there are 11, active memberswith more coming on board.Why would a small black business what to join NOIR? Becauseeach member will gain ongoing business knowledgethrough interactions with similar business owners that arecommitted to assisting each other through support andcollaboration. Members will also be partnered with experiencedmentors that will provide one-on-one assistance thatwill help the business owner reach their goals.NOIR is in the process of establishing itself as a 501(c)3,nonprofit organization, which will allow caring individuals,corporations, and foundations to donate to the organizationto help hire an Executive Director to lead day to dayoperations.For more information about NOIR Black Business SocialClub or to Volunteer as a Speaker or Lecturer, please visitwww.noirky.com, call 502-599-5299or email info@noirky.com.