Press Release
Contact: Robert Caudle |
Phone: (919) 549-7500 ext. 107 |
Duplin Wine Cellars Co-Founder to Keynote CED’s Opportunity 2006
North Carolina Lt. Governor Perdue Will Add Welcome
November 6, 2006, Research Triangle Park, NC – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced today announced that David Fussell, Sr., co-founder of Duplin Wine Cellars, will join previously announced speakers Don DeBethizy, Ph.D., President and CEO of Targacept Inc., and John McConnell, former chairman and CEO of A4 Health Systems, in providing featured remarks at Opportunity 2006. North Carolina Lt. Governor Beverly Perdue will provide opening remarks at the 4th annual conference, scheduled for Dec. 4-5 at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside.
Fussell co-founded Duplin Winery with his brother, Dan, in 1975. The company has grown from a garage operation to bottling its millionth case last year. With tank capacity to produce 750,000 gallons a year, Duplin Wine Cellars is the largest winery in the Southeast, and the biggest muscadine winery in the world. The company now includes the winery, a bistro and gift shop, and a relatively new entity, Resveratrol Inc. that makes and markets healthcare products derived from grapes. Over 75,000 visitors enjoyed Duplin Wine Cellars last year.
“We are pleased to have David Fussell join our exceptional lineup of featured speakers at Opportunity 2006,” said Monica Doss, president of CED. “Duplin Winery’s perseverance and success is an inspiration to other emerging growth companies in the state.”
In addition to featured speakers, this year’s Opportunity conference will feature workshops addressing both new business formation and practical guidance for business operation, plus three highly-targeted pre-conference workshops on growth strategies, start-up planning and presentation skills training. Nine entrepreneurs from across the East Coast will present their company’s business plan to angel investors. Entrepreneurs may also request one-on-one “curbside consulting” appointments with seasoned business professionals.
To learn more about CED’s Opportunity 2006 conference, visit www.cednc.org/opportunity.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. Headquartered in the Research Triangle with a divisional office in Wilmington, CED is the largest and oldest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. www.cednc.org
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