Ford Motor Company and AOL®Latino Select LatinVision Media Inc. CEO Carlos Vassallo as Finalist in El Visionario Contest for Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Ford Motor Company and AOL®Latino Select LatinVision Media Inc. CEO Carlos Vassallo as Finalist in El Visionario Contest for Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Dearborn, Mich., (PRWEB) October 1, 2005 -- Carlos Vassallo, CEO of New York-based LatinVision Media Inc., has been selected as a Top 50 finalist for El Visionario (The Visionary"), an online contest sponsored by Ford Motor Company and AOL®Latino. The goal of El Visionario is to identify Hispanic small business owners who embody the entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrate the progress of Hispanics in conceiving and running successful small businesses.

Hundreds of applications for this groundbreaking contest were submitted electronically at the Ford Mi Negocio website, www.ford.com/go/minegocio and via U.S. mail following a call to entry period that lasted from July 20th to September 2nd of this year. On September 9th the El Visionario Panel of Advisors, comprised of leaders in the Hispanic business community, selected the Top 50 El Visionario finalists based on the vision, creativity, and clarity of their business idea and future strategies for success.

LatinVision Media Inc. was founded in 2005 by Carlos Vassallo. The Company co-sponsors business networking events for Hispanic business executives, managers, professionals, entrepreneurs and academia in conjunction with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at New York University (NYU) www.nyu.edu/gsas/program/latin and other educational organizations.

I am honored to be selected as a finalist for the El Visionario contest," said CEO Vassallo. I want to thank Ford for this wonderful opportunity to grow my business."

The Top 50 finalists will receive an AOL® Optimized PC® computer and a one-year membership to AOL®Latino. They are competing for a grand prize that includes a $25,000 cash award, a new 2006 Mercury Mountaineer, $25,000 in business services (e.g., legal, financial, marketing) and a business profile in Hispanic Business and Hispanic Magazine, for a total estimated value of $100,000.

Ford Motor Company is proud to continue to support Hispanic entrepreneurs by giving them an opportunity to obtain valuable resources to help them develop their businesses," said Armando Ojeda, Director of Supplier Diversity Development at Ford. We wish each of the Top 50 finalists the best of luck in the next phase of the El Visionario contest and with their individual businesses."

From September 28th until October 7th, the general public is invited to vote for their favorite El Visionario contestants at the Ford Mi Negocio website, http://www.ford.com/go/minegocio. The Top 5 vote getters will be invited to Miami on October 13th for a high profile event where they will be recognized by Ford, AOL® Latino and community leaders. Beginning October 18th, the general public will again be invited to vote at the Ford Mi Negocio website -- this time for the winner of El Visionario, who will be announced the week of November 15th. Online voters will also be eligible to win prizes such as digital cameras, subscriptions to business magazines and gift cards.

About Ford Motor Company:
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With nearly 325,000 employees and 110 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company and Hertz. For more information about Ford's products, please visit: www.fordvehicles.com

About AOL® Latino:
AOL® Latino, the leading Internet service provider for U.S. Hispanics, offers comprehensive Spanish- language content including U.S. and Latin American news, the latest in music, entertainment and sports, as well as access to all the existing English-language content available on AOL at no extra cost.                        

About LatinVision Media Inc.:
LatinVision Media hosts business networking events for Hispanic business executives, managers, professionals, entrepreneurs and academia in New York City. LatinVision Media has partnered with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (www.hacu.net) and CLACS at NYU in a program to highlight the importance and value of education among Hispanics in the U.S. Ten percent of profits from LatinVision Networking Events will be donated to a fund managed by HACU and distributed as tuition scholarships to Hispanic students who demonstrate need. The Company will be expanding its program of networking events outside New York City to other major U.S. cities in 2006. For further information, visit: http://www.latinvision.com
    
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