The mission of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is to significantly increase business relationships between our corporate members and our certified MBEs. We believe that minority business development is a key component of reducing poverty, unemployment, increasing wealth, and integrating American society. You are receiving this email in order to keep you abreast of developments with the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Supplier Diversity Issues and Minority Business Development. If you like what you read please share internally and externally.
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DiversityPlus Honors 2012 "Champions of Diversity"
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Congratulations Bill Boodry and Joseph Souza! 
I want to share with you this press release that recognizes two of our directors, Bill Boodry and Joseph Souza for their fine work in supplier diversity. I was also recognized. Please share tis with your colleagues. We are the only Council recognized with multiple directors and the CEO.
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| GNEMSDC and MBDA to Release Economic Impact Study at Best Practices Forum at Fenway Park November 15 |
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 The GNEMSDC and the Boston MBDA Business Center will release its first economic impact report on November 15 at the Best Practices Forum at Fenway Park, Boston. The economic impact of both the GNEMSDC and the MBDA program is substantial. Our MBEs and corporate members are major employers and economic actors in the region. The report will look at how the relationships between corporate members and certified MBEs impact total employment, minority employment, and income in every state in our region.
In addition to the economic impact report, the Best Practices Forum will feature presentations by leading corporate supplier diversity professionals and some of our most successful MBEs. The event is free, but there is limited space. We encourage you to contact Sarah James at sjames@gnemsdc.orgto register. And please, do not register if you do not plan on attending! This event has a capacity of 175 attendees, and we will be oversubscribed. So register early. |
Upcoming Events
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There are several events coming up on our calendar that are designed specifically for MBEs to learn about corporate opportunities. We know how busy everyone's schedule is, but these are events often hosted by our corporate members with the expressed purpose of finding out more about you and your business with the ultimate aim, to make you a valuable supplier to their companies. Here are some events you should consider:
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| Governor Lincoln Chafee |
October 15 - 10:00 am - 12:00 noon - Rhode Island Meet and Greet at Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum, Providence Rhode Island. The GNEMSDC along with SBA, Rhode Island SBDC and Johnson & Wales are co-sponsors of this event. The Honorable Governor Lincoln Chafee will speak at this program.
- October 16 & 17 - MassDOT will host a Business Community Meeting onOctober 16 and October 17 in Boston and Springfield to inform local businesses about MassDOT's Disparity Study. The Disparity Study will evaluate whether Small, Local, Disadvantaged Minority, and Woman-owned Business Enterprises have equal access to contracting opportunities.
- October 22 - St Francis Hospital Supplier Diversity Vendor Fair, Hartford, CT
- October 28-31 - NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair - Denver, CO. For more information visit www.nmsdc.org.
- October 28 - Sunday, October 28, 1 PM - 5 PM, All MBEs are encouraged to attend the National MBEIC Meeting at the National Conference. Details on the agenda and location are attached. We look forward to seeing you there. SPREAD THE WORD!
- October 30 - CBIA "Shaping Connecticut's Future: 2012 Manufacturing Policy Forum" 7:45-11:30 am at the Legislative Office Building, Rooms 2c and 2D, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. For information and registration, contact Adam Ney at adam.ney@cbia.com or 860-244-1933.
- November 15 - Supplier Diversity Best Practices Day at Fenway Park, Boston, 8:00 am to 11:30 am. Join us for this joint meeting of MBEs and corporate members to demonstrate case studies of the best practices of minority supplier development in New England. There is limited space for this meeting. Contact Joanne Wang to register atjwang@bostonmbdacenter.com.
- November 15 - 5th Annual Massachusetts Housing Authority MWBE Trade Fair - 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Clarion Hotel, 1080 Riverdale Street, West Springfield, MA. For more information contact James Fortune at jfortune@masshousing.com, or 617-854-1831.
- December 4 - 9:30 - 12:00 noon - GNEMSDC MBE Input Committee (MBEIC) Meeting at NSTAR in Westwood, Mass
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MBE Smart-Track GNEMSDC Supply Management Portal is Shutdown
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On the advice of NMSDC, the GNEMSDC has closed down the MBE Smart Track program. The NMSDC ruled that the site would be an inappropriate use of MBISYS data, and would prefer that the GNEMSDC wait until a NMSDC solution was created to facilitate transactions between corporate members and MBEs.
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Opportunities
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1. The State of Connecticut announced last week that they had received a commitment of $121 million in new funds that would build a high speed rail link between New Haven, CT and Springfield, MA. This project will be filled with opportunities for MBEs who are ready to provide transportation and construction services. We are actively working with Connecticut DOT to identify the opportunities in order to assure maximum participation.
2. The University of Massachusetts has several opportunities, including one for IT staff augmentation. Click here for more information.
3. Opportunity with Haynes Construction - Haynes Construction has two opportunities
b. Opportunity Two Rockview Sub Contractors Needed (Even though the deadline is this week, I have been assured that interested MBEs will be provided adequate time to respond.
4. Two employment opportunities from Triad Construction Services LLC. See details.
7. If you need Capital or Debt, the Business Consortium Fund (BCF) has recently announced an aggressive campaign to help certified MBEs with their capital needs. Please visit them at www.bcfcapital.com. Tell them where you heard it. This is a service explicitly for certified MBEs in the NMSDC network. Please take advantage of this opportunity.
8. The town of Derby, CT is looking for companies interest bidding on rehabilitation construction (heating, windows, doors carpentry and insulation) work on the 15 North Avenue, Derby, CT property. Proposals will be received until Thursday, October 25 at 11:00 AM. Proposals should be delivered to City of Derby, Office of Economic and Community Development, 2nd Floor, 1 Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT 06418. Copies of project specifications (Project # 037-06) are available Monday through Friday at the above address. Pre-bid conference on Thursday, October 18.
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And Finally...
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I have been infected with a bug. It is not something that is on the Center for Disease Control's list of communicable diseases, nor is it a leading causes of death. It is not even harmful to your heath. The bug I have I get every year around this time. It happens when the weather changes from hot and muggy to cool and clear. I feel worse when driving down the street and witnessing someone else obviously suffering from the same ailment. I feel their pain and their joy. The bug I am talking about is the marathon bug. I have run only four marathons, and unlike Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, I know my best time, NY City Marathon 1987 3 hours and 41 minutes. I last had a bad case of the marathon bug as I approached 50 years of age in 2004. (I limped through the Hartford marathon in 4:40.) That last episode of the bug was complicated by the inevitable and universal question of can I still perform. (For those with salaciousness in their minds, that is not the type of performance I am questioning.) Now I am approaching 60, and I have never run the Boston Marathon - I want to run it. And I want to qualify to run it which means, I need to run a very good marathon over the next 12 months. It means I have to run a marathon in under 3 hours and 55 minutes within a year of the 2014 Boston Marathon. It is good to have a goal. There is only one way to deal with this bug, and it means I have to lace up those shoes and head out into the cold of the early morning to chase a dream that few understand. But training and running marathons is no different from what entrepreneurs do everyday. And just as in marathoning, in business it helps to have measurable goals that you can strive towards. It ain't easy and sometimes it is not fun. But in the process something good can happen from whatever bug is bugging you.
In your service,
Dr. Fred
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