“This is an exciting time for us. We are bringing services to an area that sorely needs it”, says Denise Moore, CEO of the MBDC, which is based in Peoria.
More than 60 people attended the grand opening of the office on November 30, 2022 in the Eastland Mall. In remarks after the ribbon cutting, Moore said the new office represents a homecoming of sorts.
“This is sort of a homecoming for me,” says Moore, who graduated from ISU and worked at State Farm before opening Moore Cultural Expressions in uptown Normal with her husband, Garry, in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“The Black Business Alliance started in Bloomington, and now we’ve come full circle with a development center designed to help women, veterans, and minorities in the business space.”
With two locations now, Moore says she feels good about getting business people the services they need. “One of the reasons we opened the Bloomington office is because people from the twin cities were driving over to our Peoria office for programming and services. Now, they don’t have to. Most of the services we currently provide in Peoria will be available at the Mall location,” Moore says.
Those services include an Entrepreneurship Academy, Information Technology Training, Minority Contractor Development, Workforce Solutions Services, FREE computers, along with classes, seminars, and consulting.
The MBDC in Peoria, located at 2139 SW Adams has been recognized as a dynamic business force, helping launch several businesses; hosting outdoor marketplace events; and as a Community Navigator for the State helped secure financial assistance for scores of businesses adversely impacted by the COVID pandemic.
The Traveler Weekly 