Real Men Cook Uplifts Men at CBA Meeting

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by Dwayne T. Ervin

Speakers from Real Men Cook,transportation, and small businessloans spoke at Chatham BusinessAssociation (CBA) meeting lastTuesday.

Yvette Moyo, president and CEO ofResource Associates International,Ltd., (RAI), talked about social entrepreneurship,which is about for profitcompanies that make money. It pushesa product that is valuable to thecommunity. Real Men Cook startedas a community project. It expandedto ten cities all over the country. RealMen Cook is now going internationalby selling products in the Bahamas.

"We dispel the myth that there are nogood Black men," Moyo said. "Ourgoal is male involvement in the families."There was a PowerPoint presentationgiven by Rael Jackson, brand strategistfor Real Men Cook, about whatReal Men Cook has accomplishedand the impact it has had for men inthe country.

At one of the Father's Day Real MenCook Events, Barack Obama stated,"Real Men Cook has been a fun anddelicious way to celebrate Father'sDay for sixteen years [now 20 years.]Although the home-cooked mealscertainly keep my wife and me goingback for more, this is more than agreat food fest. It is a celebration offamily and community that bringspeople from all over to break breadand share in each other's company."

Real Men Cook is a 20-year nationalannual family celebration onFather's Day, with over 35,000 attendeeswho enjoy experiencing new flavors.The family tradition has spreadthroughout Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas,Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles,Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans,New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix,Washington, DC and Benton Harbor,MI.

Real Men Cook has distributed over$1 million to community non-profitorganizations, including YMCA,Boys & Girls Club, and 100 BlackMen."We make sure that there are healthyimages of men active in their children'slives," said Justin Wooley,director of Real Men Charities. "Menneed to be active in their families andactive in their communities."

"We make sure there are healthyimages of black fathers," Wooleycontinued. "We screened 600 men forprostate cancer through health marketcampaigns. We screened 700 peoplefor HIV and STDs."

"It is very important for men to havetheir children eat healthy meals. Menneed to step up and be involved withtheir children on a regular basis. EmilJones mentored Barack Obama,which allowed him to become anIllinois Senator. It is important formen to mentor other men.

Saturday December 13 is their secondannual fundraiser, a roast andtoast to retiring Senate President EmilJones at the Historic South ShoreCultural Center at 6pm. Their productsare available at Jewel and ontheir website.

Other speakers touched on transportationand small businessloans.Bryce Word, special projectsmanager for legislative and governmentaffairs, announced that RTAwillhold the 12th Annual Transit Summitat Hilton Towers December 2, 2008."RTA is the financial overseer of transitfunding for CTA, Pace, andMetra," Word said. He gave areminder about the free rides programsfor seniors, disabled, and veterans. "We believe in building partnerships,"Word added.

The third speaker was Ray Graves,vice president of Somercor 504 Inc.He spoke about the Small BusinessAssociation 504 Loan Program. Hementioned the benefit of 90 percentfinancing under the SBA 504 Projectthat has a low down payment, lowfixed rate, and helps support banksverses a conventional bank.

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