first person i will bring to the stage is cornelius blanding, executive director of the federation of southern cooperatives who is also longtime board member for in the cba inclusive. cornelius has a long career in rural, international and cooperative economic development. his experience includes business and project development, management and marketing. he has worked as a small business development management consultant, manager of multimillion dollar loan fund, domestic and international project director and director of field operation among many of the leadership positions from the federation of southern cooperatives, 54-year-old association of cooperative black farmers in the south. next i would like to bring to the stage secretary tom vilsack. thank you so much for being here, secretary. almost everybody in this community, there's very little introduction needed but i will do a quick one. you want me just to go -- okay. let's go. the last thing i will say if i've got to work with both of these gentlemen in the last 15 years and their shared commitment to economic opportunities i