(l-r) B Kyle, St. Paul Area Chamber CEO/president; Charles Lovejoy, Lovejoy’s Bloody Mary Mix founder; Monique Green, Mullur’e Cosmetics founder; Tracey Williams-Dillard, MSR CEO/publisher, and Marc Heu, co-owner and executive pastry chef of Patisserie Paris Credit: Courtesy of the MSR

The St. Paul Area Chamber and its partners at the Minnesota Black Chamber and the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce welcomed esteemed members of the Twin Cities business community to the inaugural Small Business Summit and Expo held at the Intercontinental Hotel Saint Paul Riverfront.

The April 26 gathering welcomed nearly 300 individuals and 50 exhibitors. It offered seven workshop sessions and a panel discussion moderated by MSR Publisher/CEO Tracey Williams-Dillard and panelists Monique Green, founder of Mullur’e Cosmetics, and Marc Heu, co-owner and executive pastry chef of Patisserie Paris, and Charles Lovejoy, a hospitality veteran turned founder of Lovejoy’s Bloody Mary Mix.

(-r) Charles Lovejoy, Lovejoy’s Bloody Mary Mix founder, Monique Green, founder of Mullur’e Cosmetics, Marc Heu, co-owner and executive pastry chef of Patisserie Paris, and MSR Publisher/CEO Tracey Williams-Dillard who moderated the panel discussion.

Event sponsors included Wells Fargo, Ramsey County, Travelers, Allianz, Bremer Bank, Clifton Larson Allen, Comcast Business, Grand Casino and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, Jones Financial Group, McGough, The Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx, Seven Hills Benefit Partners, Sunrise Bank, U.S. Bank, and Xcel Energy.

View snapshots from the event below, provided by the MSR.

(l-r) Kimerlie Geraci, MSR executive assistant and Debbie Morrison, MSR director of operations

Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.