Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — Connie Michael, the owner of Colorful Creations Printing, will host the third annual Power Conference: Women Doing Business, which takes place Saturday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Thad Cochran Center at the Jackson Medical Mall (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.)

The conference will provide women in the Jackson metro area with the opportunity to network and access to tools that will help them to start or grow their own businesses. The theme for this year's conference is "Speak It."

"Every year I tell people about how I started my own business because I needed extra income for my kids," Michael told the Jackson Free Press. "I said a simple prayer for a job I could do at home, and I found a way to make it happen. The basis of 'Speak It' as the theme this year is to let women know that we have the means to do what we need to do, and sometimes it's as simple as speaking the word to get started. I want to get women to believe in themselves and teach them that even saying something as simple as 'I can do this' is the kind of thing that can help to motivate you."

The event will feature speakers such as Ricky Jones from Jackson State University's Small Business Development Center, Toni Harris with Constant Contact and motivational speaker Voretta Mesby, who owns her own company called Van Ministries. Magnolia Federal Credit Union will have a representative at the event. The GCS Mime Group from Greater Clark Street Church in Jackson will perform at the conference, and Jackson-based vendors such as M&M Monogramming, Toot's Cake Pops and jewelry store All Things Girly will have products available for sale.

Women Doing Business is free to attend, and no registration is required. There will be door prizes and special mother-daughter giveaways in honor of Mother's Day, including gift baskets and tickets to see the new film, "Mother's Day."

For more information, email [email protected] or call 601-385-1413.

Warrior Bonfire Program Seeks Help Building Bonfire Lodge for Veterans

Clinton-based nonprofit organization Warrior Bonfire Program, which encourages camaraderie and healing for service members wounded in the line of duty, is preparing to build a lodge at Camp Down Range on Tennin Road in Clinton that will serve as a meeting and event space for Purple Heart recipients and other veterans.

The Bonfire Lodge will host event weekends for veterans and their spouses and children, offering archery classes and other activities. The Warrior Bonfire Program is looking for help from any local contractors, businesses or individuals willing to provide a commitment of labor, building materials, equipment, services or general building funds toward the construction project. Any kind of donation is tax deductible for both individuals and groups.


Warrior Bonfire Program expects to break ground on the Bonfire Lodge by June 2016. Donations can be made to the program at www.warriorbonfireprogram.org. For donations specific to the Bonfire Lodge visit http://www.warriorbonfireprogram.org/buildthelodge.



Broadband Voice Now Fuse.Cloud 


Broadband Voice, the longest-standing Internet phone service provider for businesses in Mississippi, recently announced that it is changing its name to Fuse.Cloud. Since 2006, the company has grown to serve more than 1,300 customer sites in 40 states, providing advanced, cloud-based voice technology to businesses of all sizes.

Vice President of Corporate Development Laura Johns said in a press release that the company's new name is more reflective of the expanded range of services it now offers, which include fiber Internet and IT services, such as email hosting, desktop and network support, and data backup options.



For more information, visit www.fuse.cloud.

Jackson Medical Mall Foundation Hosts Grand Opening of East Village Estates

The Jackson Medical Mall Foundation is hosting a grand opening and ribbon cutting for East Village Estates, Thursday, May 19, at 10 a.m. at the East Village Estates Community Center (351 Wheeler Circle).

The foundation's housing-development project consists of 44 townhomes and the 2,500-square-foot community center. Representatives from the foundation will host free tours of the area following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

For more information, visit jacksonmedicalmall.org.

American Bar Association Honors Jackson Attorney W. Scott Welch III

The American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section will honor Jackson attorney W. Scott Welch III with the Sen. Edmund S. Muskie Pro Bono Service Award during the second annual ABA TIPS Spring Section Conference, which takes place May 11-15 in Atlanta.

The award recognizes TIPS members who are dedicated to public service and justice for all citizens. The ABA will present Welch with the award Friday, May 13, at the Leadership in Action Luncheon at the InterContinental Buckhead.

"True pro bono service is performed expecting no recognition or accolade, to earn the satisfaction which comes from providing the kind of help only a lawyer can provide," G. Glennon Troublefield, chair of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, said in a release. "TIPS honors one of its own every year whose pro bono sacrifices provide leadership by example."

Welch is a senior counsel in the Baker Donelson law firm's Jackson office. He is a civil-trial and appellate lawyer and mediator with a current emphasis on commercial disputes, lawyers' professional liability and disciplinary actions, financial services litigation, insurance coverage issues and first-party disputes, personal injury, and product-liability litigation and mediation. Welch has served in the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Program and Mission First, both of which focus on legal concerns and assistance to low-income individuals. Welch was also heavily involved in Baker MVLP's divorce-mediation pilot program.

In addition to local outreach, Welch has tackled larger pro bono matters, including work on an amicus brief for the National Chamber of Commerce addressing a potential threat to the right to trial by jury. In 2014, he devoted significant research and legal analysis to representing the family of a disabled veteran in appealing denial of VA benefits. Welch also recently represented a case involving international child abduction.

For nearly 20 years, Welch has served on the TIPS National Trial Academy Standing Committee. An active member of the ABA, Welch has served on the Board of Governors, House of Delegates and standing committees on judicial independence, lawyers' professional liability, medical professional liability and membership. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation, as well as a past president of the Mississippi Bar Association.

For more information about the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, visit the TIPS website, www.americanbar.org/tips.

Send business tips to [email protected]. Read more local business coverage at jfp.ms/business.