September 27, 2010

GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Expo and Conference Agenda

Participate GNEMSDC Business Expo Survey

· Show Exhibitors
	We are happy to announce that every available booth has been sold for the GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Expo and Conference. On behalf of the GNEMSDC board of directors, the Expo committee and all of the volunteeers, we thank the following companies for making this show a great success. I encourage all of our MBEs and corporate members to visit the show on Friday to meet some of these outstanding companies. United Technologies Corporation Pratt and Whitney Sikorsky Aircraft Hamilton Sundstrand Otis Elevator Carrier Light Speed SAI Systems commVerge Marketing Sayers40 International Creative Data Industries (ICDI) The Matlet Group Agneto Corporation Acindo Group Cartus Roxbury Technology Corporation A.C.P. Cleaning Winston Strategic Partners SHI International Alstom Power ValorOne, LLC Thompson Hospitality Services Rose International The Metropolitan District Commission The Blount Group Banneker Industries PepsiCo, Inc. Harbar, LLC W & R, LLC Sorganics RBS Citizens Penmar Industries, Inc. Stop and Shop METLIFE Kelly Services Diggs Construction Lancaster Packaging Boston Business Journal Aetna, Inc. GBG, The Corporate Gift Source Pitney Bowes AT&T Virpie Technology Thomaston Safety Group Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut KT&T Distributors Aimtek, Inc. The TJX Companies PCNet State of Connecticut Department of Transportation Jantris Marketing Services C & C Janitorial Supplies Electric Boat Corporation BYN Mellon The Computer Company Iberdrola USA (formerly Energy East Corporation) Siemens Building Technologies PictureThat, LLC Tyco Simplex Grinnell PrintabiliTees, LLC Ethnic Online A & A Maintenance Enterprise, Inc. Turner Construction Company Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation/Foxwoods Resort Casino Staples Raytheon Pfizer Passage Foods Interpreters and Translators Bruckner Supply Faison Office Products SCORE Westnet, Inc. Environmental Integrity Company, LLC MA Small Business Development Center Minuteman Trucks Liberty Mutual Comcast SamedaUSA.com US Small Business Administration Starburst Printing US Postal Service Total Technical Services Tuck School/Dartmouth College The Hartford Electro-Wire, Inc. Globalive One BostonKorea State of Connecticut Department of Administrative Services CCS Presentation Systems AI Engineers, Inc. Horizon Staffing Services National Grid J & J Contractors USM Orasys, LLC PRC Supplies I, LLC Spectro Coating Corporation Claremont Flock, LLC Housing Authority of New Haven Inner City Newspaper Vase Management Jet-A-Way ASA Environmental Products, Inc. CVS Caremark Ernst & Young United Rentals University of Connecticut Prudential Ecolab Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Northeast Utilities Connecticut Light and Power Yankee Gas Blacks in Government Proverb State of Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office (formerly SOMWBA)

· A Note on the One on Ones
	Corporate members and MBEs received their One on One schedules last week. Please bring a copy of your schedules with you for this program. We will have the master schedules for referral purposes, but are counting on you to have the schedules we sent last week. There will be plenty of volunteers at the event to direct traffic and to answer questions. The schedules that were sent are firm and we are unable to make changes in those schedules. We realize that there are some corporations who did not make it on an MBE's schedule and there maybe some corporations that the MBE may feel might not be a good fit. But we ask the MBEs to prepare as best they can for the schedules we have laboriously created in the hope that you will be pleasantly surprised; serendipity is alive and well. There have also been some late additions for corporate members who have agreed to participate in the program (AT&T and Partner's Healthcare). We will be making appointments for them at the show. So check in to see if you can get an appointment with them or other firms who are joining us. For corporate members, we also realize that there may be some MBEs on your schedule that did not fit exactly the requests that you made. We ask you also to be patient and gracious and see all of the MBEs on your schedule enthusiastically. You also may come across some unexpected surprises and may figure out some ways to assist the MBEs you meet with. Remember, "development" is in our mission! So we admit imperfection, but we wish all the best in these important meetings. Please both MBEs and corporate participants in the One on Ones, come prepared with plenty of business cards and some knowledge of what company will be sitting across the table from you. We are so excited that these meetings are often the starting point in the words of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship".

· Raffle at the Show
	One of the most exciting parts of the GNEMSDC Business Opportunity Expo and Conference is the raffle. This year you will be able to start purchasing raffle tickets on the first day of this program. All tickets are $10.00 and you will be able to select which raffle items you want your raffle ticket to be for. Once again we have some excellent items and there is still time for corporate members and MBEs to make donations. Here are some of the items that have come in so far: Kelly Chunn and Associates has Donated One Hour of Marketing Consulting Beverly Hills Limousine has Donated a Limousine Ride Cartus has Donated a Seven Night Stay at a Vacation Resort John Hancock has Donated two Boston Bruin Tickets Cheryl and JeriLynn Clark has Donated a Toshiba Portable DVD Player and a Golf Jacket ALegre Communications has Donated an Autographed copy of "Effective Going Green Techniques" by Gail Williams Larry Wooten has Donated a Model Sikorsky Helicopter Aetna has Donated an iPod Touch Guy Brown has Donated a Gift Basket of Products Liberty Mutual has Donated an iPod Touch Minuteman Trucks has Donated an iPod Touch Sonalyst has Donated a Coffee Table Book and a Combat Simulation Game Sayers 40 has Donated and Autographed Football signed by Hall of Famer Gayle Sayers Light Speed has Donated a Nikon CoolPics 50 BNY Mellon has Donated Two iPads Karl Nurse Communications has Donated dinner at Deone's on Martha's Vineyard Northeast Utilities has Donated a $25 Gift Certificate to Home Depot Burns and McDonnell has Donated a number of items including Golf equipment and a Grill Mate BBQ Set GBG the Corporate Gift Source has Donated a Tri Fold Portfolio The MBE Group has Donated a Gift Basket of Golf Items The Bose Corporation has Donated a Wave Radio The GNEMSDC has donated 50,000 American Express Points

· NMSDC Business Opportunity Fair and Expo Alert
	MBEs who have registered for the conference, NMSDC will be checking the MBISYS database to see if the certificate has expired. If the certificate has expired, the MBE will be charged the higher price, $1,800. MEMBERSHIP AND CERTIFICATION VALIDATION Corporate members are procurement entities paying national and/or local dues. MBEs are suppliers certified as minority-owned by an NMSDC-affiliated Regional Council only. MBEs must be listed in the MBISYS® database or provide a copy of their NMSDC-issued certificate in order to validate MBE status and take advantage of registration discounts offered. If your corporate membership or MBE certification is not current or cannot be verified by NMSDC, you will be charged the corporate non-member or non-certified supplier registration

· Small Business Bill Goes to President Obama to Become Law
	The Senate last week approved HR 5297, the "Small Business Bill" that is designed to address the impact of the recession and financial crisis on small businesses. The bill extends several features of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) from 2008 by extending the SBA guarantee from 75 percent to 90 percent and lowering the fees associated with SBA loans. The bill also provides up to $30 billion in new capital that will target small banks and community banks that are lending to small businesses. The bill also offers some temporary tax relief for small businesses who are facing higher health insurance bills because of the new health care law passed earlier this year. In coming weeks, as we learn more about the contents of the law, we will keep our community informed.

· And Finally,

A couple of weeks ago while waiting for President Obama to arrive for dinner in Stamford, I had the opportunity to talk with a fellow dinner guest who happened to be a senior partner at a law firm specializing in patents and intellectual property law. After exchanging cards and learning more about each other's work, I told him about our upcoming Business Opportunity Expo and Conference. He was amazed that an organization like the GNEMSDC existed and jealously marveled at the types of corporations involved and the opportunities that certified minority business owners had with these corporations. This week he sent me letter saying he had visited our website and wanted to know how he and his firm can assist in our mission. It is responses from perfect strangers who are senior people in their organizations that reaffirm the value of our mission and our activities. It is people like this who may appreciate what sometimes even I take for granted. I hope that certified MBEs and corporate members show up in droves this week in support of this unique and important event. It is an honor to be a part of this network. See you at the show! In your service Dr. Fred