Thank you very much. Thank you for that kind introduction and for inviting me to share an evening with all of you.
To those of you visiting our state, let me say – on behalf of Governor O’Malley and myself – welcome. We are delighted you chose to hold this year’s board meeting in Maryland. We are especially proud that our friend, David Kim, a former president of Maryland’s KAGRO chapter, is leading your national organization. And one of your members, Kwang Choi, is currently serving on the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
In the short time we have together this evening, I want to talk with you about the shared values and the common goals we have in Maryland and remind you how important the Korean American community is to our state.
Governor O’Malley and I ran for office on the values we know reach across all the corners of state. They are values that see the dignity in each person – that there is no spare Marylander. Values that push us to work day in and day out to build a better future for our kids and grandkids. And they are values say that our diversity is our greatest strength…
And from these values, we’ve set ambitious goals for our state: Strengthen and grow our middle class and support family-owned, small and minority-owned businesses; Improve public safety and public education; Expand opportunity to more Marylanders.
To meet these goals, Governor O’Malley and I have set forth on a path toward greater progress that builds on our strengths: We are the wealthiest state in the nation as well as the best educated; We are ranked, by Forbes Magazine, as one of the best places in America to do business and live; We are home to more than 50 Federal agencies and the recipient of more than $12 billion of Federal research and design funding; Many of our local school systems rank near the top nationally and we have a community of colleges and universities that are renowned across the world.
And in Maryland we have an economic engine that is driven by small business. In our state, small business is big business: Nearly half of Maryland workers are employed by one of the state’s 400,000 small businesses.
Our workforce is among the most diverse in the nation. We have the highest percentage of women- and African American-owned firms in the country. And, in Baltimore alone, there are more than 300 Korean-owned businesses. In fact, Maryland’s Korean American population is well over 50,000 and you are making significant contributions to our state.
We’re proud of the service you provide to your communities, whether they are here in Maryland or beyond out state borders. Thank you very much…