May 14, 2012


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. 
  GNEMSDC & the Boston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 
Business Card Exchange
Join us for the GNEMSDC and the Boston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange at the GNEMSDC Boston Office at Copley, Thursday, May 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.  
It is FREE! 
This is a great opportunity for GNEMSDC MBEs and corporate members to meet members of the Boston  Hispanic Chamber.  

GNEMSDC Office, 138 Dartmouth St., Copley Place, Dartmouth Shops, Boston, MA 02116
2012 New England Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Day 
Conference and Expo 
MBDA logo
2012 New England Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Day Conference!  
June 7, 2012 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
            
Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 7.  The GNEMSDC along with the Boston MBDA Center and several strategic partners are organizing New England MED Day 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.  MED Day is the premier event for minority enterprises and the public and private sectors. MED Day will offer the opportunity for MBEs to access information, tools and resources to grow their businesses both domestically and internationally.  This year the event is free and open to the public.  

This conference will also introduce the new U.S. Department of Commerce's Boston Minority Business Development Center, a powerful tool for MBEs who want to grow.  Attendees can expect networking, business-to-business matchmaking sessions with corporate procurement officials and capital providers and workshops. This free event includes continental breakfast and luncheon. . .
Space is limited, so please REGISTER by Friday, June 1.

Large corporations can expect to meet Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs) and MBEs to achieve their federal government goals. Buying organizations interested in participating in the afternoon match-making session should contact Sarah James at 617-578-8900 or sjames@gnemsdc.org  
GNEMSDC  Massachusetts Supplier  Diversity Golf Classic - 
Almost Sold Out!
golf
The GNEMSDC Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Golf Outing is coming to
Ferncroft Country Club on Monday, June 11.  As of this past Friday, we have only about 20 golf slots left.  This is will be a sold out affair. Please reserve your slots today.  We are very pleased to announce one of our celebrity MBEs will be in attendance and playing at the Boston event:  Hall of Fame great, Gayle Sayers of Sayers40 will be  joining us this year.  

Annual Sponsors have the choice of participating in either the Ferncroft Country Club MA outing or theLyman Orchards Golf Club, CT outing July 13 or both.  

We are asking for sponsors to provide us with the names of their guests by May 15Due to the limited space, we will not be able to hold your slots if you do not send your names to the office by June 1.  One of the main attractions of this event is getting MBEs and Corporate members together.

If you are interested in a fun morning of golf, networking, food, drinks and relationship building and are not registered, we can put your name on a waiting list.  

Another great way to support the Golf outing is to donate something we can raffle off at the luncheon on June 11.  If you would like to donate any items for our very popular raffle, please contact the office (888-874-7114).  These will be greatly appreciated and all the proceeds go to great cause, our MBE Scholarship program.  This year thanks to your support, we were able to pay for 8 full scholarships to Tuck and Kellogg.  Our goal is to make it possible for every certified MBE with 3 or more years of consecutive certification to get executive education.  
                                             
***Volunteer Opportunity  for June 11, MA is Closed***
***Volunteer  Opportunity  available for July 13, CT  - Contact Coordinator*** 
Events That MBEs Should Not Miss  
There are several events coming up on our calendar that are designed specifically for MBEs to learn about corporate opportunities.  In order to help you organize your own calendars and keep things straight, we have begin sending out invitations using Constant Contact.  This way we can include directions, agendas, share with you who else is attending and allow you to register.  If it seems like we are busy, it is because we are.  As I like to tell people, business is a contact sport.  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:
GNEMSDC 2nd Quarterly Meeting - Tuesday May 29
LM
GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting-
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 -Liberty Mutual will host the Quarterly meeting at their location at Weston, MA  from 1:00 pm- 4:00 pm. More information to follow.  These meetings have  been averaging about 125 corporate members and MBEs.  This is our first 2012 Quarterly Meeting in Greater Boston.  We strongly encourage our corporate members to sign up for this informative meeting where several MBEs will have the opportunity to present their businesses to the network.  These presentations have led to multiple business relationships in recent years.  We thank our host Liberty Mutual for allowing us to use their facility in Weston, MA. 
RSVP for this event by emailing sjames@gnemsdc.org
  Employment Opportunities  
It is very important in business to be able to balance between staying close to your core competencies and meeting the needs and demands of your customers.  For many years I have resisted the offer to take employment ads, however at the risk of opening the flood gates, I will begin accepting offers for employment at MBEs and corporate members.  Even though the economy continues to improve unemployment is too high.  If we can play any positive role in connecting people to jobs, we will do so.   We reserve the right to publish.
for NMSDC Program Managers Training 
bnsdc
  
Register for the  Program Managers' Regional Seminar Today.
 
Program Description:   
The 2012 NMSDC professional development seminars are designed to provide sourcing and supplier diversity professionals access to the most current and effective concepts in supplier diversity process management. Register Now! 

This year's seminar focuses on best practices and lessons learned in cultivating scalable MBEs. We will also discuss the burgeoning issue of integrating sustainability and supplier diversity.
This interactive one-and-a-half-day seminar is designed to maximize participant interaction and provide insights on taking your initiative to the next level. Regardless of your level of experience, if supplier diversity is important to your company or to your major customers, you cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Come and see why Ralph G. Moore is recognized as the leading practitioner in supplier diversity and why RGMA has been the primary training resource for NMSDC for the past 20 years.
 
CPSD™, CPSM ® , C.P.M. and A.P.P. Credit
Participants earn continuing education hours that may be applied toward recertification requirements for Institute for Supply Management (ISM)'s Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity ® (CPSD™), Certified Professional in Supply Management ® (CPSM ® ) and C.P.M. and A.P.P. 
Dr. Fred's Corner
Please take a close look at the information listed below.  The links will take you to detailed information.   
General Assembly Saves Disparity Study Funding
Thanks to  Senator Toni Harp and State Representative Toni Walker, we were able to save funding for one half of the original allocation for a new disparity study.  The state's supplier diversity program is based on an antiquated disparity study done over 30 years ago when the minority population in the state was less than 20 percent. Now it is close to 40 percent and still minority businesses are only receiving 1 percent of all state contracts.  This travesty can only be permanently corrected with a disparity study. Governor Malloy rescinded the funding last year because of budget priorities, and we believe was prepared to remove the funding for this year.  With the help of the Appropriation Co-Chairs, the two Toni's we removed the money from the Executive branch where DAS and CHRO would have administered the study and moved it to more friendly hands in the legislature.  It is too bad that the Governor does not see this as a priority. 

The study will be conducted under the leadership of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE).  I will be working closely with CASE on the design of the study and recommending qualified MBEs an experts who can see this project to completion.  The one potential downside of the political solution,  is that there will not be an RFP to conduct the study.  But the number one priority is the completion of a study that will benefit all MBEs.  So stay tuned.
And Finally...
Fred in ohio
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending two inspirational events.  That morning I attended the Grand Opening at the MET School in Providence, Rhode Island.  The MET School is the first public high school in the country.  It is a program that has attracted international attention.  Bill Gates along with leading companies, many of them GNEMSDC corporate members, including CVS Caremark, in RI have answered the call to support this innovative and productive program.  In addition to having RI Governor Chaffe and Mayor Tavares of Providence in attendance there were leaders from the business and academic community there to add their support.  
The program include presentations by confident and capable high school students who have created functioning businesses.  If the kids in this inner city school represent our future we are in good hands.  Later that same day I had the pleasure of attending and participating in the National Society of Hispanic MBAs 15th (Quinceanera) dinner.  It was great to see the growth in the numbers of Hispanic MBAs in the area, many of them working for GNEMSDC corporations.  It is clearly consistent with our mission to have greater diversity within the management ranks in our corporate membership.  Not surprisingly, the key corporate supporters of NSHMBA are also supporters of the GNEMSDC.  The night was capped off with a raffle of a week in Cabo San Luca, Mexico.  I never win these raffles, so I purchased 5 tickets and gave them to Tatiana, who was there with me.  And guess who won?
In your service,
Dr. Fred
Dr Fred QR