Companies from all over central Illinois are gathering at Lumpkin Hall to help Eastern students learn business tactics today.

There will be five speakers to help educate on the topic of succeeding in the business world, and two Eastern professors are among them.

Topics of the conference include how to spend advertising money and the seven keys to business success.

The keynote speaker, Jack Schulz, president of Agracel, Inc., will speak at noon.

A similar event was held last year and its focus was on big businesses. It was successful, and well attended, said Richard Palmer, the Lumpkin distinguished professor of business.

The School of Business decided this year’s conference should center more on medium and small businesses.

The purpose for the conference is to help local and regional businesses in their efforts to grow and prosper by showcasing the activities of leading edge companies in information technology, finance, management, marketing or other business-related endeavors, Palmer said.

The majority of the School of Business faculty is actively involved contributing ideas for the conference.

The event is free and takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Roberson Auditorium in Lumpkin Hall, Room 2030.

Attendance is expected to be large, and Palmer said seating will fill up quickly.

Directly after the conference, speakers can be met in Klehm Hall 1418. Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences and Lumpkin Family Foundation are funding the event.

Mike Boroom, chair of the School of Business, and Wayne Chandler, the associate chair of the School of Business, two top conference sponsors, have provided leadership for the conference.