Diane Patrick to speak on homelessness

Diane Patrick, the Bay State's first lady, will travel to Danvers tomorrow to address the 10th annual Women Honoring Women luncheon sponsored by Wellspring House of Gloucester.

The event, to be held at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort, will focus on family homelessness. Patrick is expected to discuss the approach her husband, Governor Deval Patrick, to solve the issue of family homelessness across the state.

Wellspring House, a nonprofit, provides a shelter for homeless women and children, and also offers job training and adult basic education classes to help lift women out of poverty. Proceeds from the luncheon will help fund its programs.

The luncheon also will honor three women who have dedicated their lives to social justice. Sefatia Romeo, a member of the Gloucester City Council, is the local honoree. She is the Community Health and Human Services liaison for Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester. Her duties include addressing the needs of the community. Recent efforts include "Two Hearts, One Gloucester," a community campaign to raise awareness of blood and organ donation, on behalf of two Gloucester boys who needed heart transplants.

In addition to Romeo, those being honored are Julia Kehoe, commissioner of the state Department of Transitional Assistance, which oversees emergency assistance for low-income families, the elderly, and others who may be in need of services; and Jill Ker Conway, the first woman president of Smith College. During her 10 years as college president, Conway worked to ensure that women on welfare received enough financial aid to attend Smith, a women's college in Northampton.

"Wellspring provides women and families with opportunities for education, jobs, and permanent housing," Conway said in a prepared statement. "I am honored to be receiving an award from Wellspring because I believe so strongly in its mission."

Wellspring House, established 27 years ago, is run on the principle that "everyone deserves a home." The motto will be reflected at tomorrow's luncheon. Birdhouses, decorated by 60 local artists, will be used as centerpieces. Senior citizens at the Rose Baker Senior Center in Gloucester helped to make some of the birdhouses, which will be available for purchase at the luncheon. Proceeds will benefit Wellspring's programs.

Who's to say an entrepreneur won't go to the ends of the Earth to make a buck?

Housing in Tanzania and a power drink made in Gloucester are among the four finalists in this year's North of Boston Business Plan Competition, sponsored by The Enterprise Center at Salem State College, the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council, and the Merrimack Valley Venture Forum.

The finalists are: Enterprise Homes LLC of Andover, which develops housing in Tanzania; Flavrz Beverage Corp. of Gloucester, which makes concentrated drink mixes from organic ingredients; Differential Proteomics of Beverly, a biotechnology company that developed technology to identify specific diseases, including cancer; and Meddart, a Beverly company that is developing a medical imaging contrast agent to help doctors with diagnostic information.

Each company is less than two years old. They will present their plans before a panel of judges at 6 p.m. on May 14 at Salem State's Central Campus Recital Hall. First prize is $10,000, second place $6,000, and third place $4,000.

Steve Karp, the former mall mogul who now is Newburyport's largest private property owner, will be the guest speaker at the May 28 annual luncheon of the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Karp's company, New England Development, has quietly purchased real estate all over Newburyport. Earlier in his career, he built shopping malls in Danvers, Peabody, and Saugus.

The chamber is also accepting awards nominations for the luncheon. Categories include Innovation Award of the Year, Chamber Ambassador of the Year, Retailer of The Year, and Business of The Year. The luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Georgetown Club in Georgetown. For more information, go to newburyportchamber.org.

The Homebased Businesswomen's Network will hold its monthly lunch meeting at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Village Green Restaurant, Route 1 north, in Danvers. Ellen Blomerth, a holistic chiropractor in Peabody, will be the guest speaker. She will talk on "De-Stressing Your Life: How Stress Can Make You Fat, Bald, Sick, Tired or Depressed - And What Can You Do About It? " Blomerth, the first woman elected president of the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society, was the 2007 Massachusetts Chiropractor of The Year. The meeting is free for members, $10 for nonmembers. For information, visit h-b-n.org.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.