Barbara Smith, host of the syndicated television show "B. Smith with Style," will visit St. Thomas this week as honorary chair of the New Image Foundation Awards Gala to be held on Friday, March 16, at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort.
She also will give the keynote address at a Women's Network for Entrepreneurial Training round-table gathering at Marriott Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort at noon on Saturday, March 17. At the meeting, Terrilyn Smock, owner of the Pave Street Café on Norre Gade, will be honored as the March WNET entrepreneur of the month.
A former high-fashion model who owns three restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., and Sag Harbor in Long Island, N.Y., Smith is the first African-American woman to be elected to the Culinary Institute of America board of trustees.
After her table-top cookbook "B. Smith's Entertaining and Cooking for Friends" was published, Smith signed a four-book deal with Random House. The first of those volumes, "B. Smith Rituals and Celebrations," published in 1999, was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. Her magazine "B. Smith Style," published by American Express, made its debut in October 1999.
Smith's half-hour syndicated television show, featuring cooking, fashion and home décor, airs in 187 markets – including the Virgin Islands, on WSVI-Channel 8.
In her WNET address, on "Entrepreneurship for Women of the 21st Century," Smith will share her own experiences on the road to economic success. A question-and-answer period will follow. She also will sign copies of "B. Smith's Entertaining and Cooking for Friends" for purchasers.
Applications for loans of $500 to $5,000 will be available at the round-table gathering, which is from noon to 3 p.m. For more information, call 777-8883.
