| | |
| The GNEMSDC can be a valued partner for your company whether you are an MBE or a corporate member. The lead story on 2010 events and activities gives an example of the number of ways we can help your organization reach it's goals. Here are some concrete steps that you and your company can support the Council and our mission to make 2011 an even better year.
| |
| | |
 On Monday, December 13 at Darryl's Corner Bar and Kitchen at 604 Columbus Avenue (one block off MA Avenue). The event will go from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This historic bar is part of the African American Boston tradition of great Southern Cuisine. Please RSVP by calling the office or sending Tatiana an email, tparedes@gnemsdc.org. We are also proud to have as co-sponsors for this Holiday Business Card Exchange, the Massachusetts Black Business Alliance and BostonKorea. These are two organizations we have partnered with this year in activities in the Greater Boston area and bringing them together with our organization is quite an honor. Imagine, a little kim chi with your black eyed peas and corn bread! | |
| | |
 It is not often that we get to congratulate an MBE for winning statewide office, so it gives us great pride to congratulate Chip Flowers of the Flowers Law Group for winning the election last month in Delaware to become the Treasurer for the State of Delaware. Mr. Flowers is close to our hearts because his firm, the Flowers Law Group is a tenant at the GNEMSDC offices in Boston. We wish him well in his new endeavor. You can come and give him your personal congratulations at the Holiday Business Card Exchange next Monday (December 13). I guess the lesson here is become a tenant and you just might become the next governor of Maine! | |
| Chip Flowers ________________________________________________________________ Thank You For a Great Year As we hurtle towards the end of 2010, it is a good time to reflect on this past year. If the there is any one word that describes the year it would be active. We had the busiest calendar of activities in events ever and the result of all of this activity was a record breaking year. Our budget increased by over 30 percent. We increased the number of national corporate members. We increased the number of local corporate members. We increased the amount of certified MBEs. And we increased the amount of seminars, workshops and other networking events. Here is the list of 2010 activities.
This list while extensive, does not cover all of the other activities where we were major participants. I share this list because as we are putting together the calendar for 2011 we are seeking companies who are willing to conduct "How to do Business seminars. We are looking for companies to host meetings of MBEs and meetings of corporate members. We are also seeking feedback on whether any of the topics covered last year would be of interest to MBEs or members this coming year. And we are always open to new ideas for new programs. Feel free to give us a call. We want to hear from you. | |
| | |
 The Houston Minority Supplier Development Council is and has been one of the strongest regional councils in the entire NMSDC network for years! Much of that success is due to the leadership of Dick Heubner. We were sorry to learn recently that Dick was hospitalized. On behalf of the entire GNEMSDC network we wish him a speedy recovery. | |
| | |
| If you missed the Quarterly meeting on Friday, you missed informative and engaging presentations from Waqas Sherwani of Horizicon International and John Kearny of the Connecticut Development Authority. Both presentations looked at two sides of the same coin. Waqas looked at the opportunity for MBEs to grow their enterprises through globalization and John covered the financing necessary to make this happen. Waqas and John have offered their material to the Council for distribution. This week you can find Waqas' presentation. Much of John's presentation is found on the CDA's website. On behalf of the GNEMSDC, I thank both for their fine presentations as we try to further develop MBEs throughout the region. (We will put the presentations on our website this week.) | |
| | |
| I noticed in the media two unrelated cases of fraud when it comes to MWBE programs. The first case was of a Chicago firm (Azteca Supply) and its owner, Aurora Venegas, who plead guilty to fraud for serving as a "pass through" on City of Chicago construction project. The second was a case in NY of a construction firm, Schivaone Construction, that had "won" over $350 million in State of New York construction contracts and falsified its reporting on MWBE utilization. Schiavone agreed to pay a $20 million fine. These programs were designed to benefit legitimate MBEs and encourage their utilization by prime contractors. Unfortunately we still must maintain our vigilance in keeping out firms that are gaming the system. We also must reporter firms who win contracts on the basis of lies to the authorities. There are consequences that I am sure are not considered when firms like Azteca and Schiavone do what they do. I commend the legal authorities for pursuing these cases of fraud and abuse. And the costs paid by the owners of these companies is only one of the costs of MBE fraud. The MBE community in general is harmed when the actions of a few poison the well. The overwhelming majority of certified MBEs are hard working honest and law abiding. These actions bring into question the actions and behavior of the community of MBEs and our mission. Yet we must support these efforts to weed out fakes from the legitimate MBEs. | |
| NY Times Article on Shiavone Case | |
| | |
 The Metropolitan District Commission was awarded the Small Business Administration Eagle Award for its work in supporting the development of small businesses. Chuck Sheehan, President and CEO of The MDC being presented an award by Heyward Davenport of the MBDA. For the press release click below. Congratulations, MDC! Well deserved. | |
| MDC Wins SBA Eagle Award | |
| | |
| The GNEMSDC is looking for dynamic manager to assist us to expand our operations in the Greater Boston market. If you are interested in learning more about the opportunity send your resume to Gloria Yopp at gyopp@gnemsdc.org. The job description will be posted on our website later this week. | |
| | |
 In my last year as a junior economist at the White House in 1978, the U.S. Federal Government budget deficit was $44 billion in a $2.1 trillion economy. That year exports (and imports) represented about 10 percent of GDP. And the federal debt was $800 billion. Now we have $14.7 trillion economy, with a $1.4 trillion deficit and exports representing $1.7 trillion and imports at $2.2 trillion. And total federal debt at $10.5 trillion. Debt as a percentage of GDP has increased since 1978 from 38 percent to 71 percent. At that time these were just as alarming numbers as the current set of numbers are now. But now they are even worse. A group of retired elected officials, economists and policy makers just released a report on the fiscal crisis today. By comparison to the numbers back in 1978, our fiscal house is out of order and the path that we are on is not sustainable. This report "The Moment of Truth: Report of the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform" is a document that is likely to influence the current debate in Congress over changing the tax code and the Bush era tax reductions. As an economist and a taxpayer, taxes should be as low as possible, but more importantly, taxes should be sufficient to pay for the legitimate expenses of government. And furthermore, I firmly believe that those Americans who have benefited the most financially should shoulder a disproportionate share of the expense of maintaining our fragile system. Therefore if taxes were reduced to the point that we cannot fund the operations of government, then taxes need to be increased or government needs to be reduced. While it sounds simple, the problem is a political. We are operating in an environment where everyone wants their benefits and wants someone else to pay for those benefits. Right now that someone else happens to be our children and grandchildren, who will be saddled with this crushing debt. This is a legitimate concern of the minority business community. Without fixing this problem, it will become increasingly more difficult for MBEs to get credit, to sell in global markets or to grow their business. There are plenty of places to look for what needs to be cut and where taxes revenues can be increased. Nothing should be taken off the table including sacrosanct areas like Social Security, military expenditures, non-profit tax breaks, or tax rates in general. I can say these things, because I am not running for office seeking the votes of powerful special interests. But most of all there needs to be some attempt at national consensus over our responsibilities as citizens to each other and our children. In your service Dr. Fred | |
