March 31, 2005

Dear Community Partner:

Today, we are concluding a very successful Buy 90 Campaign. As you recall, the purpose of the economic empowerment concept was to (1) increase the awareness of Black-Operated Businesses (BOB’s); (2) increase the profitability of BOBs; and (3) re-circulate our dollars within our community. All three of these goals have been successfully accomplished within 90 days because of YOU.

The Buy 90 Campaign asked you to support a Black-owned gas station, restaurant, car detailing service, religious book store, and hair care product provider from January 1, 2005 through March 31, 2005. Those businesses included: (1) Conoco Gas Station; (2) Richard’s Café; (3) Ty’s Car Care; (4) Creation Station; and (5) Sounds of Joy. All of the businesses have seen an increase in business as a result of your support. On at least five occasions, the gas station sold out of gas. The restaurant experienced record sales, and at least two of the businesses have considered expanding to additional locations.

While we only targeted five BOBs during the Buy 90 Campaign, other Black-Operated Businesses in Southeast Texas have also seen an increase in business. It is clear that once we start re-training our mind, we will soon learn that “white man’s ice is not colder than ours.”

While our success has been great, it should not stop. We must continue to support quality BOBs in our community. We are in the process of gathering the data from the five-targeted BOBs as well as other BOBs in our community to do a statistical analysis illustrating the success of our efforts.

You should hear from me soon. If you need any additional information, you can visit my website: www.aholeintheboat.com. Again, thank you for your support. This could not have been accomplished without the community coming together.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY,

James E. Payne