Local Businesswoman Honored by President Bush

WASHINGTON DC (Tuesday, August 03, 2004) - President Bush and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans met with several women business leaders on Thursday, August 2 to honor them for their achievements in international business. The businesswomen, all clients of the U.S. Commercial Service, heard the president deliver a speech about women in international trade.

The group included representatives from Candy Bouquet International, a local franchiser that manufactures and sells decorative candy arrangements similar to floral arrangements; R.M. Waite, a California building materials distributor; Petrochem Inc, an Illinois distributor of specialty lubricants, and Capitol Hill Building Maintenance, a Baltimore-area supplier of janitorial training and supplies.

Margaret McEntire, President and CEO of Candy Bouquet, traveled from Little Rock to attend President Bush's speech. McEntire started the company in 1989 out of her garage, and has since grown Candy Bouquet into a successful international franchiser. Today, the typical Candy Bouquet store is a full-scale chocolate and candy retail operation, although some operate successfully as homebased businesses. Some franchisees operate exclusively as Candy Bouquet, others run this franchise in conjunctions with a floral shop or other retail outlet. Candy Bouquet has over 510 franchises in 48 states and 35 foreign countries in 2001.

Among other honors, McEntire was named SBA's 1998 Exporter of the Year. In November 1999 McEntire participated in the women in business matchmaker trade mission to South America and the Women's Economic Summit of the Americas in Buenos Aires.

Candy Bouquet International is a client of the Little Rock U.S. Export Assistance Center, part of the global network of the U.S. Commercial Service. The U.S. Commercial Service, a Commerce Department agency, has 107 offices in the U.S. and 160 more worldwide where U.S. businesses, particularly small and midsized companies, can receive export assistance.

Exports are key to U.S. economic growth, and Arkansas is no exception. Last year Arkansas merchandise exports totaled over $2 billion, up 86 percent from the 1993 total. Arkansas' export growth over the 1993-2000 period was significantly greater than the 68 percent increase of export sales nationwide.

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