UNC Asheville’s Family Business Forum will host a workshop on "Preparing Your Family Business for Strategic Change" with family business expert Joseph H. Astrachan from

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, September 12, at the Asheville Community Theatre. The program is open to Forum members and their guests; a limited number of seats are available for family business owners interested in membership.

A principal of the The Family Business Consulting Group Inc., Astrachan is also Wachovia Chair of Family Business, director of the Family Business Academy and research director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business. He also directs the research efforts of the well-known Family Business Center at Loyola University Chicago’s business school.

UNCA’s Family Business Forum, the first program of its kind in the region, was developed to enhance the continued viability of family-owned businesses in the Asheville area. Membership in the forum is open to firms that have a family member with controlling interest in the business and at least one family member currently employed in the business. In addition to seminars and workshops, members will receive current research and articles on family business issues, a quarterly newsletter, and the opportunity to network with other family-owned business members who face similar challenges of perpetuating a family business.

Registration for the workshop is required. For more information or to register, call Richard Lasher at 828/251-6769, voice box 8003.