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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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:
- 2012 Upcoming Events
- October 11 - Governor Malloy - State of the State and Construction Opportunity Day This event will take place at the Pratt and Whitney Hangar in East Hartford, See the flyer for more information. After the Governor's speech, there will be representatives from State agencies to discuss opportunities, particularly in the area of construction.
- October 15 - Meet and Greet at Johnson and Wales Culinary Art Museum, 10:00 am to noon. This is a collaborative effort with several Rhode Island organizations including the Small Business Administration, CVS-Caremark, RBS Citizens Bank, and Johnson and Wales. All are invited.
- October 15 - SBDC, CWE and GNEMSDC Present A One of a Kind Event for Minority and Woman Owned Small Businesses in Rhode Island; Monday, October 15th from 10:00 am- 12 pm, Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University, 315 Harborside Blvd Providence, RI 02905
- October 16 & 17 - MassDOT will host a Business Community Meeting on October 16 and October 17 in Boston 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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Welcome Aprile R. Ricardi of United Technologies Corporation to GNEMSDC Board of Directors
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On behalf of the entire GNEMSDC network, I welcome Aprile R. Ricardi to New England, UTC., and to the GNEMSDC Board.
Aprile R. Ricardi is the Corporate Responsibility and Supplier Diversity Manager at United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Aprile is responsible for integrating supplier diversity into the way UTC does business. She is the chairperson of UTC's Supplier Diversity Council, a group of supplier diversity managers from each of UTC's business units: Carrier, UTC Aerospace Systems, Otis, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, UTC Climate, Controls, and Security, and United Technologies Research Center. UTC pursues competitive and innovative minority business enterprises (MBE) and small businesses including: woman-owned, veteran, service-disabled veteran, small disadvantaged, and hub-zoned. This effort is driven with Aprile's leadership through supplier development, training, outreach and sourcing initiatives.
Aprile has 22 years of UTC career experience, held positions of increasing responsibility for two aerospace divisions, Pratt & Whitney and legacy Hamilton Sundstrand in Supply Chain management, Purchasing, and Operations. Prior to this role, she was the Senior Business Practices, Ethics and Compliance Officer for the Commercial Engine Business of Pratt & Whitney. Aprile is a graduate of the Pratt & Whitney Leadership Development Program, she holds two Masters Degrees and herself was a woman-owned business entrepreneur.
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Welcome Rose Hatcher of Aetna to GNEMSDC Board of Directors
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 On behalf of the entire GNEMSDC network, I welcome Rose Hatcher, to Aetna Inc.., and to the GNEMSDC Board.
Rose Hatcher, is a Procurement Sr. Manager for Aetna Inc., one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies. In this position, she leads the company's Print and Forms Management services enterprise-wide, impacting over $200M in company expense. She is accountable for developing and executing strategies that promote effectively management of Aetna's print-related supply chain. Her responsibilities include the full spectrum of supply chain management services; from needs analysis and sourcing, through contracting and supplier relationship management. Ms. Hatcher also has responsibility for supporting inventory management and fulfillment. Her teams are comprised of technical experts who centrally deliver print and forms management services across multiple lines of business. Ms. Hatcher's role was recently expanded to include oversight of Aetna's Supplier Diversity Program. In this role, she is responsible for driving strategies that increase Aetna's business relationships with traditionally underutilized (TUU) suppliers.
Prior to joining Aetna, Ms. Hatcher held various leadership roles with Prudential Healthcare, Ricoh Corporation and Wackenhut Investigations. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Bloomfield College, an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Project Management Certification from Boston University. Ms. Hatcher is also a 2008 Alumnae of the Higher Ground Women's Leadership Development Program offered by The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University.
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Survey Results, MBE Showcases and Photos
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The survey result are in. Please take a look:
GNEMSDC Trade Expo Survey Summary Results
From all reports, the GNEMSDC Trade Expo Showcases were outstanding. Over the coming weeks, we will highlight those presentations. This week we start with Resource Management Inc. Click here for the Resource Management, Inc. presentation.
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MBE Smart-Track GNEMSDC Supply Management Portal is Now Open
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 We are pleased to announce that the Smart-Track GNEMSDC Supply Management Portal is now open. This exciting new program will allow corporate buyers to go to one portal in order to identify and contract with certified MBEs. Only certified MBEs are in the system assuring that corporate buyers will be able to count every dollar spent via the system as MBE spend. And the system documents critical performance data that corporate buyers are looking for.
Corporate members will be contacted and instructed on how to access the portal once we have a critical mass of MBEs covering a wide array of goods and services. The service is open to ALL NMSDC corporate members members.
Here are some particulars:
1) MBEs can visit and register on GNEMSDC Smart Tracks by entering through the secure GNEMSDC portal. The portal is the same site where MBEs submit their on-line certification applications and update their information. If you do not have a user id for the portal, we strongly encourage you to sign in to the portal. Once logged in, click on the Smart Tracks pull down menu on the far right side of the portal. Click on the registration option to provide some information about your company and sign up for GNEMSDC Smart Tracks. Once you are signed into GNEMSDC Smart Tracks you can view opportunities and place your bids on opportunities.
2) Corporate members have elaborate procurement systems in place, so the question becomes why use GNEMSDC Smart Tracks? The answer to that question is that this is an easy one-stop market that only includes certified MBEs. We do not expect to replace corporate procurement systems or MBISYS. We believe GNEMSDC Smart Tracks give corporate members a site where they might first start with "one-off" items. Corporate members can put in their requirements, review MBE responses, and most importantly contract with those MBEs from GNEMSDC Smart Tracks. Corporate members can register for the portal by clicking on the following: ( https://affiliate.nmsdc.org/gnemsdc/app/template/account,login,UserLogin.vmr). The system starts with corporate member opportunities. Give us a shot at helping you find great certified MBEs. We already have over 60 certified MBEs signed up in the system.
The GNEMSDC will be demonstrating the GNEMSDC Smart Tracks at our booth in Denver at the NMSDC Business Opportunity Conference and Expo.
The GNEMSDC is on the cutting edge of MBE development. We are hoping you give this a try. We want to hear back from you as we strive to constantly improve this system.
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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. Turner Construction Company will be hosting a Subcontractor Outreach Fair in connection with the University of Connecticut Health Center Building L Renovation project for all interested Set Aside Contractors who are DAS, MBE, DBE and SBE Certified.
October 12, 2012, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Cell and Genome Sciences Building University of Connecticut Health Center
Room - 1210, 400 Farmington Ave. Farmington, CT 06030
Mr. Reggie Tolliver, Director Community Affairs, Turner Construction Company at
Turner Construction Company is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer (AA/EOE). Minorities and women are encouraged to bid/apply.
3. The University of Massachusetts has several opportunities, including one for IT staff augmentation. Click here for more information.
4. 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.
5. 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.
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Thank You Connolly for the Tuck Scholarship
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 On behalf of the entire GNEMSDC network, I want to express my sincere thanks toConnolly for their support of the GNEMSDC MBE education program. Connolly has for the second year provided the GNEMSDC with the funds to support one of our MBEs to attend the Tuck Executive Education program coming up next month.
"Recovery auditing is a financial best practice recognized by leading organizations worldwide for reducing erroneous payments, improving processes, and enhancing performance.
Connolly provides services to clients based in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland-Europe, Canada, and Latin America. Connolly clients include both top national and multinational companies with operations worldwide.
As a leader in recovery auditing since 1979, Connolly understands that there's more at stake than just dollars and cents. In each new engagement, we examine the nature of the transaction, the dynamics of the business relationship and the processes that result in erroneous payments. Connolly embraces diversity of culture, language, and the unique business relationships of each client in their respective countries and industries. This knowledge and global perspective provides the best approach, process, and results possible.
We help organizations worldwide recover money, improve processes, strengthen relationships and maximize value."
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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. |
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