Government & Politics

WASHINGTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- More than 150 key Latino entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the country will converge today in Washington, D.C., for the first U.S. Latino Economic Summit hosted by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and LATINO Magazine. Gene Sperling, adviser to U.S. Department of the Secretary Timothy Geithner and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress will keynote the summit at noon and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will lead a town hall forum later in the day. This day-long summit, held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, will address many of the financial challenges these entrepreneurs are currently facing across the country.

Summit attendees will have one-on-one opportunities to meet with top economic and business experts to discuss, develop and provide input on business strategies to best navigate these difficult economic times and understand the regulatory environment. Wal-Mart is sponsoring this first Latino Economic Summit as part of its ongoing commitment to Hispanic-owned businesses, particularly the company's Hispanic suppliers.

"Wal-Mart understands the concerns and critical issues that Hispanic businesses face in today's economy, and this is why we are committed to supporting the timely and critical summit," said Esther Silver-Parker, senior vice president of Corporate Affairs, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "As a retailer, we will continue to leverage our resources to offer opportunities and resources to small businesses."

Today, approximately, 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses contribute to the U.S. economy by creating jobs and generating more than $388 billion in annual gross receipts and by 2010, there will be 3.2 million Latino firms generating an estimated $465 billion. (Small Business Administration, HispanicTelligence(R)

"LATINO Magazine focuses on the issues most relevant to our community, and the growth of Latino-owned businesses is one of the most important issues facing us today," said Alfredo Estrada, publisher of LATINO Magazine. "This is why we are proud to be part of the first Latino Economic Summit to help business owners survive and thrive."

Today's leading economic and business experts will lead discussions on the pressing financial matters of the day, including former U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, former Small Business Administration Administrator Aida Alvarez, and Brookings Institution Economic Studies Senior Fellow Barry Bosworth, to name a few. (A full list of panelists can be found in Appendix A)

Additionally, representatives from the top Hispanic organizations, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Council of La Raza will participate in the summit.

Please visit http://impact-o.com/Wal-Mart.Summit for more information.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at http://www.walmart.com. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com.

Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com.

About LATINO Magazine
LATINO Magazine is the flagship publication of the Latino Publishing Group. Based in Austin, Texas, it has a national circulation of 50,000 targeting opinion leaders, influencers, stakeholders and members of Hispanic organizations. It presents thoughtful, nuanced articles by America's top Latino journalists on the issues that matter most to the Hispanic community. Founded by Alfredo Estrada, the former editor of HISPANIC and VISTA Magazines, LATINO Magazine is the voice of the Latino community. For more information, go to LatinoMagazine.com.

APPENDIX A
-- Aida Alvarez, Former U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator, and Director, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
-- Jim Avila, Senior Law and Justice Correspondent with ABC News
-- Barry Bosworth, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution
-- Maria Cardona, President, Latinovations and Political Commentator
-- John Guerra, CEO, New America Alliance
-- Carlos Gutierrez, Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Former Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Kellogg Company
-- Charles Kamasaki, Executive Vice President, National Council of La Raza
-- Augustine Martinez, President and CEO, U. S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
-- Victoria Negrete, Founder and Chief Strategic Officer, Impacto and Expert in Latino consumer sociology
-- Marisa Rivera Albert, President, MPowerment Works
-- Lionel Sosa, Founder, Sosa, Bromley, Aguilar & Associates (now Bromley Communications), Author and U.S. Hispanic Advertising Expert
-- Marjorie Torres, Founder and CEO, Concrete Stories
-- Jeff Valdez, Co-Founder and Chairman, Si TV

SOURCE Latino Economic Summit