Business calendar

• Small-business assistance provided by the Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce, by appointment only, call 882-1565.

Wednesday

• Northern Nevada Development Authority's membership breakfast meeting at the Carson Nugget, 507 N. Carson St. from 7-9 a.m. The topic is the NDOT program from funding to projects.

Thursday

• Entries are due at noon for the American Marketing Association's ACE awards. Send all qualifying entries to the Reno-Tahoe Chapter of the American Marketing Association. For instructions and other information, call Angela White at 335-1883.

• Nevada World Trade Council workshop on "Doing Business in China" with guest speaker Alan Di Stefano, Nevada Commission on Economic Development director for global trade and investment, at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno. Meeting begins at 4 p.m. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for non-members. Call 329-1414 to reserve space.

• Applications are due to the Dell/National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Excellence Award. The winner of the 2005 award will receive $30,000 in technology and professional services from Dell; and several other honors. Nine finalists will receive a Dell Latitude notebook. Selection of the winner will be announced later this year. To be considered for the award, an entrant must be a small business with 100 employees or fewer. The company must show how it has used information technology to drive a significant change and/or develop a competitive advantage in delivering superior customer value and experience, including customer case studies. For a complete description of the criteria, rules and regulations, and to submit an application, visit www.dell.com/ceaward.

April 5

• The Nevada Arts Council "Developing a Fund-raising Plan: Securing Your Organization's Future" at the Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $85, which includes lunch and all print materials. Call the council at 687-7102 for registration materials, or visit www.nevadaculture.org.

April 5 to 7

• Oasis 2005 Conference "Creative Communities: Making a Difference in Nevada" at the Nevada State Library and Archives, 100 Stewart St. The cost is $60 which includes all materials, two luncheons and evening receptions. The registration is available online at www.NevadaCulture.org.

April 13 to 15

• The Nevada Commission on Tourism's 15th Annual Rural Roundup tourism conference at the Rainbow Hotel Casino in West Wendover. NCOT will present the annual tourism awards to individuals for outstanding work building and promoting tourism in rural Nevada in 2004. The program also includes a general session on "Bringing Out the Best in Others," a panel discussion on packaged and group travel featuring Ann Thomas of Reno, president of CrossSphere; and sessions on conducting and maximizing e-mail blasts, producing successful collateral materials, letting photography tell the story, developing, funding and marketing of trails, public speaking and questions to ask an advertising salesperson. Rural Roundup registration is $65, including meals, or $80 after April 6. Rural Nevada delegates can register online or download a form at www.travelnevada.com/ruralroundup, or call 1-800-NEVADA-8 and ask for a registration form.

April 18

• Northern Nevada Development Authority's Membership Mixer from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Thunder Canyon Golf & Country Club.

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212 to list a business event in the weekly calendar