Askinosie to present at national festival

Askinosie Chocolate founder Shawn Askinosie has been selected to present at the Chicago Humanities Festival, an annual event celebrating humanity and culture.

Askinosie joins myriad speakers for this year's event, including 1986 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and famed author of more than 50 books, including "Night," according to ChicagoHumanities.org.

Attorney-turned-chocolatier Askinosie, who founded Askinosie Chocolate in 2007, is scheduled to speak Nov. 4 on his company's social business model and the growing U.S. chocolate industry, according to a news release.

“The Midwest has become the improbable hotbed of the American chocolate movement, and I'm proud to be invited to represent our industry and discuss its evolution, or really revolution," Askinosie said in the release.

Askinosie Chocolate, which operates in Springfield's center city at 514 E. Commercial St. and ships chocolate globally, has become known as a social enterprise. The company partners with cocoa farmers in countries such as Tanzania and Ecuador, where it shares profits directly with the suppliers. Askinosie Chocolate's Chocolate University program this year sent a group of 12 high school students to Tanzania to learn about entrepreneurship and introduce them to the culture and challenges of a developing country, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.