To Our Sponsor Partners
KDM & Associates hosts the first “Innovation Agriculture and Energy Opportunity Zone Summit”. Domestic and International experts will address the theme, “What Works in Innovation in Agriculture and Energy”? This question the Summit Team raises begins a 5-year mission to create partnership engagements between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) federal, state and local governments and private industry. The Summit will foster collaborations to implement solutions to address systemic barriers that have been identified in rural communities that are co-located around Opportunity Zones and Envision Centers. The partnerships agree that these areas can experience significant progress toward sustainability, and job creation by learning about application best practices with smart agriculture and energy innovation.
This historic summit will attract stakeholders like agriculture and energy scientists and researchers, potential investors, industry and governments to engage farmers, faculty, legislators, community activists and national and international decision makers.
We invite you to bring your knowledge and capabilities to participate in this agriculture and energy innovation transformation. The benefits are tremendous! You will have an opportunity to interact with experts from around the world. You will learn how to take advantage of a $100 Billion Economic Stimulus Program developed to ignite a culture of innovation and to prepare a diversified, 21st century workforce in the agriculture and energy sectors.
Event Planning Committee
Henry G. Parks, Jr. Sponsor
Henry G. Parks, Jr. (1916 – 1989), is best known as the founder of H.G. Parks, Inc., the first black corporation to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He was born Henry Faris Parks in Atlanta, Georgia on September 29, 1916 to Henry Green Parks Sr., of Atlanta, Georgia, and Gainelle Esther Williams, of Birmingham, Alabama. He was raised, however, in Dayton, Ohio when his parents moved north.
In 1951 Parks established the Parks Sausage Company which he headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The following year the United States Department of Agriculture agreed to regular inspection of Parks Sausages. With the government guarantee of the quality of his products, within two decades, Parks was operating a multi-million-dollar corporation selling his pork products as far north as Connecticut and as far south as Virginia.
The success of Parks Sausage Company caught the attention of corporate America. By 1968 Parks appeared on the cover of Business Week. Soon afterwards he joined the board of directors of First Pennsylvania Corporation, Magnavox, W. R. Grace and Company, and Warner Lambert. In January 1969 Parks took Parks Sausage public and it became the first African American firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Between 1951 and 1977 Parks Sausage Company never posted a losing year. Company sales reached a record $14 million in 1976. On May 20, 1977, the Norin Corporation acquired more than 95% of the outstanding common stock of the Parks Company and Henry retired from the business at the age of 61.
The exclusive premier event sponsorship benefits include:
• Premier company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Access to opportunities identified by KDM that could be of interest to business development advancement for the Sponsor
• Invitation to provide remarks, e.g.10-min. virtual company/organization profile (live speaking or video) during the Summit
• Registration contact list
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Two-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Company name on online entrance signage for event
• Leader board banner with company/organization logo (728 X90 pixels) on the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• A one-year banner and video posting on the ‘What Works’ online video platform
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• Three Summit virtual exhibit booths
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Pre-conference Sponsor recognition in e-mail blast to registrants
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Reginald F. Lewis Sponsor
Reginald F. Lewis (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993) was a Virginia State University graduate, business pioneer, philanthropist and industrial leader. The Harvard Law School graduate rose to prominence as a lawyer and financial titan. He built and was CEO of the first African American owned billion-dollar Company…global food Company TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. Mr. Lewis was the first African American to close an overseas billion-dollar leveraged buyout deal.
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Access to opportunities identified by KDM that could be of interest to business development advancement for the Sponsor
• Invitation to provide remarks, e.g. a 10-min. virtual company/organization profile (live speaking or video) during the Summit
• Registration contact list
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• One-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Company name on online entrance signage for event
• Leader board banner with company/organization logo on the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• 6-months banner and video posting on the ‘What Works’ online video platform
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• Two Summit virtual exhibit booths
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Shirley Ann Jackson Sponsor
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, (August 5, 1946 – Present) is a theoretical American physicist and the eighteenth President of the renowned engineering and research University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Jackson is the first African-American woman to receive a Doctorate in any field from MIT and the first woman and African American woman to Chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She holds a B.S. in Physics, and a Ph.D. in Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Access to opportunities identified by KDM that could be of interest to business development advancement for the Sponsor
• Invitation to provide remarks, e.g. a 5-min. virtual company/organization profile (live speaking or video) during the Summit
• Registration contact list
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Half-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Company name on online entrance signage for event
• Leader board banner with company/organization logo on the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• One Summit virtual exhibit booth
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
George Washington Carver Sponsor
George Washington Carver (January 1, 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an agricultural scientist and inventor who developed more than three hundred products using one major crop – the peanut. He was born an African-American slave. Carver earned a master’s degree in agricultural science from Iowa State University. He would go on to conduct research at Tuskegee University for decades, and soon after his death his childhood home would be named a National monument.
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Invitation to provide remarks, e.g. a 5-min. virtual company/organization profile (live speaking or video) during the Summit
• Registration contact list
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Half-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Spotlight in the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• One Summit virtual exhibit booth
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Lewis Howard Latimer Sponsor
Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an African-American engineer and inventor who was a member of Edison's research team, which was called "Edison's Pioneers." Latimer improved the newly-invented incandescent light bulb by inventing a carbon filament (which he patented in 1881).
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Invitation to provide remarks, e.g. a 5-min. virtual company/organization profile (live speaking or video) during the Summit
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Quarter-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Recognition in the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• One Summit virtual exhibit booth
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
• Logo recognition in app and pre-conference promotional correspondence
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Frederick McKinley Jones Sponsor
Frederick McKinley Jones (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an African-American inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. As early as 1935, Mr. Jones, an engineer, pioneered designs for mobile refrigeration that led to great improvements for the long-haul transportation of perishable goods. More than 60 patents were issued in his name for innovations including an air-conditioning unit for military field hospitals, and a refrigerator for military field kitchens. Mr. Jones co-founded the company, Thermo King.
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before, during & after the Summit
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Quarter-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Recognition in the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• One Summit virtual exhibit booth
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Booker T. Whatley Sponsor
Booker T. Whatley (November 5, 1915 – September 3, 2005) was an agricultural professor at Tuskegee University and one of the pioneers of sustainable agriculture in the post-World War II era. Dr. Whatley envisioned and advocated "to create an agrarian black middle class". He received his B.S. degree in agriculture from Alabama A&M University Doctorate in Horticulture from Rutgers University. He later earned a Law degree from Alabama A&M University in 1989. Dr. Whatley is best known for his regenerative farming system, in combination with the direct marketing concept of pick-your own (PYO), a customer harvesting operation managed by farmers and growers.
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Company recognition before & during the Summit
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Quarter-page, four-color spread ad in conference program
• Recognition in the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Ad in IAEOZ Summit series periodic Newsletters
• One Summit virtual exhibit booth
• Logo recognition in conference app
• Insertion of fliers or promotional items in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Henry Blair Sponsor
Henry Blair (1807 – 1860) was the second African American inventor to receive a patent. Born in Glen Ross, Maryland, his first invention was the Seed-Planter, patented October 14, 1834, which allowed farmers to plant more corn using less labor in a smaller amount of time. The machine also helped with weed control. On August 31, 1836, he obtained a second patent for a cotton planter. This invention worked by splitting the ground with two shovel-like blades which were pulled along by a horse. A wheel-driven cylinder followed behind which dropped the seed into the newly plowed ground. Blair had been a successful farmer for years and developed the inventions as a means of increasing efficiency in farming.
Event sponsorship benefits include:
• Name and logo on all Summit printed materials
• Company recognition in conference program
• Company listing in the Innovation in Agriculture & Energy Opportunity Zone Summit website, www.IAEOZSummit.com
• Insertion of flier in registration packet
• Digital Copies of Summit Presentations & Materials
• Photos of Your Participation in the Summit
• Sponsor appreciation gift
Upcoming Webinar
Transparency: The Past, Present and Future of Opportunity Zones
Thursday, April 29, 2021
11:30am-1:00pm