Please Support Your Council by Attending the 2014
GNEMSDC Annual Gala: May 6
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The Award will be presented at the Black-Tie 2014 GNEMSDC Annual Awards Gala at the Aqua Turf in Southington, CT on Tuesday, May 6.
You will be receiving your invitation to the Annual Awards Gala soon.
Please RSVP by April 15, 2014 tp www.boothleads.com/gnemsdc/gala2014
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| 2014 Annual Gala MC - Jonathan Coachman |
 We are very pleased to announce Jonathan Coachman is a Sports TV Personality for ESPN and ESPN Radio will be joining us at the Gala this year as our MC. Jonathan Coachman began his career in 19997 in Wichita, KS at KAKE-TV. He continued on to Kansas City in 1999 where he worked in the same sports department with NFL legend and Super Bowl MVP Len Dawson. In the fall of 1999 his career took an abrupt turn as Coachman took a hob as a TV personality in WWE.
He spent the next 9 years traveling the world working for Vince McMahon. In 2006 he began also doing sports again at CSTV and MSG network in New York City. In 2008 Jonathan left the road and the WWE for the friendly confines of Bristol, CT and ESPN. In His almost 4 years with the company Jonathan has done just about every sport but he has found a niche as a main host on the flagship show SportsCenter. You may have heard Coachman as you are driving around in your car on ESPN Radio.
In 2011 Jonathan joined forces with Freddie Coleman for "The Coach and Coleman Show" on ESPN Radio. Jonathan is married to Amy and has 2 beautiful kids, Kayana (3) and JJ (1).
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| David Hinson to Receive 2014 GNEMSDC President's Award |
 We are extremely happy to announce that David Hinson as accepted the 2014 GNEMSDC Presidents Award. Mr. Hinson's last day as National Director for the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency was last week. During his tenure he oversaw a significant increase in the amount of contracts won by minority business clients of the 44 MBDA Centers across the county. We at the GNEMSDC are particularly fortunate to be a beneficiary of his leadership. In 2011, the GNEMSDC won a five-year contract to operate the Boston MBDA Business Center. And in 2013, the GNEMSDC won a four-year contract to operate the Bridgeport MBDA Business Center. Director Hinson is one of the global leaders in minority business development. He has traveled the world to promote business relationships between domestic minority businesses and minority businesses in Brazil, Africa, Australia and Europe. We are honored to have Director Hinson as the GNEMSDC 2014 President's Award recipient.The Award will be presented at the Black-Tie 2014 GNEMSDC Annual Awards Gala at the Aqua Turf in Southington, CT on Tuesday, May 6. It is not too early to reserve your tickets. Call Jerilynn Clarke at203-288-9744 for ticket information. |
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| 2014 GNEMSDC Nominees for MBE Awards Are In! |
On behalf of the GNEMSDC board of directors, I am proud to announce the 2014 MBE Nominees.
Category 1 (Under $1,000,000 in Annual Sales)
1. Light Speed
2. Picture That
3. PrintabiliTees
Category 2 (Over $1,000,000 but less than $10,000,000)
1. Environmental Integrity
2. Horizon Services
3. Roxbury Technology
Category 3 (Over $10,000,000 but less than $50,000,000)
1. Essex Newbury North Contracting
2. Lancaster Packaging
3. Minute Man Trucks
5. PCNet
5. SAI Systems
Category 4 (Over $50,000,000)
1. The Matlet Group
Reciprocal (Companies Located Outside of Greater New England)
1. Deluxe Delivery Systems
2. The Berrnd Group
3. World Wide Technologies
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| 2014 GNEMSDC Award Nominees - Congratulations |
| On behalf of the GNEMSDC MBE Input Committee I am proud to list the 2014 Nominees for Corporate Awards.
Corporation of the Year - National Category
1. Aetna2. Cartus 3. Chevron 4. Comcast Cable 5. CVS Caremark 6. Dominion 7. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company 8. National Grid 9. TJX Corporation 10. United Technologies Corporation
Corporation of the Year - Local Category
1.. Pratt & Whitney2. Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center 3. Yale New Haven Health System 4. Yale University 5. The Metropolitan District Commission
Buyer of the Year
1. Ed Frey, Yale University2. Ron Swatt, Sikorsky Aircraft 3. Michael Jovovich, Yale New Haven Health Systems 4. Janice Beckner, Connecticut Lottery 5. Erik Collins, Dominion
Advocate of the Year
1. Bob Pilney, The Hartford Insurance Company2. Joyce C. Eriksen Eggers, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International Inc. 3. Alton Moss, Pratt and Whitney4. Erik Collins, Dominion 5.Carla Hunter-Ramsey, National Grid 6. Al Tawrel, Northeast Utilities 7. Thomas Ray, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company 8. Joan Davidson, UTC Areospace Systems
MBE Empowerment Award
1. Eileen Hasson, The Computer Company2. Arvin Chaudhary, Nadicent Technologies, LLC Congratulations to all the nominees on jobs well done. Once again we have a very competitive field of nominees. THe MBE Input Committee will have a difficult time selecting one winner in each of these categories. All of these nominees are deserving of recognition for the great work that they do to support our mission of minority business development. It will be an exciting evening on Tuesday, May 6th when the winners are announced. |
| Photo Memories from the GNEMSDC Gala 2010-2013 | ||
The 2014 GNEMSDC Annual Awards Gala is Tuesday, May 6 at the Aqua Turf in Southington, CT.
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| Why you should attent GNEMSDC Annual Gala |
Why should you spend your hard earned money and take valuable time away from your stressed out, over worked, demanding schedule to put on a tuxedo or a gown and attend the GNEMSDC Gala on May 6 at the Aqua Turf? This is a question I have to ask myself because I need to put myself in your shoes if there is any chance that we will have a successful event. When I taught economics, I told my students that the answer to almost every question is "it depends". However, "it depends" is not sufficient to answer the question fully or get a decent grade. You need to explain what it depends on.
The reason MBEs should attend the GNEMSDC Gala on May 6 is to market themselves and their companies. I spend a significant amount of my time trying to connect MBEs to corporate buyers. And I will add, that my success rate is only about 50 percent. One thing that I know is that MBEs who attend can get their success rate up to 100 percent just by attending. MBEs should attend with a game plan in hand on who they want to see and why. MBEs also have to look at this as an excellent opportunity to call a corporate prospect or an existing client and invite them to attend as their guest. I know that contracts will not be signed on May 6, but you have to start this process somewhere, and there is no better place to start a business relationship than at our Gala. It should also be stated that MBEs need to attend because other MBEs and non-MBE competitors will be there talking to your existing clients. Protecting your turf is important.
For corporate members, the answer to the question is a more nuanced. Clearly, the corporate attendees can attend to show their support for the GNEMSDC. Corporate members can also demonstrate to other corporate members, many of whom do business with each other, that supplier diversity is important enough to their companies that they support events like the Gala. And corporate members can actually meet MBEs who are highly capable of becoming competitive and innovative suppliers to their supply chains.
Then there is another important reason why both MBEs and corporate members should attend. When you have an energetic large crowd of successful people, it creates an environment where people want to be part of that success in even greater ways. Economists call these effects externalities. Your being there provides great value to the mission of creating economic opportunity for MBEs. This Gala is a visceral example of minority business development at work. The event inspires both MBEs and corporate members to do more. And the more people attend, the greater this externality.
So be a part of this and join us on May 6.
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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:
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| Corporation of the Week: The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) |
 The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) has been dedicated to serving Connecticut's hospitals since 1919. CHA advances the health of individuals and communities by leading, representing, and serving hospitals and their related healthcare organizations that are accountable to the community and committed to health improvement.CHA is seeking to create opportunities for expanding supplier diversity in hospitals to be reflective of the diversity of the State of Connecticut by identifying product and service opportunities for Connecticut minority businesses to offer to hospitals. The CHA Supplier Diversity Program is part of the CHA Diversity Collaborative: From Intent to Impact, a multi-year, statewide endeavor to improve health equity and eliminate disparities by increasing diversity in hospital governance and senior management, improving cultural competence in the delivery of care, and increasing supplier diversity. This first-in-the-nation collaborative of acute care hospitals has been recognized as a national model for advancing health equity and eliminating disparities. For more information about the CHA Supplier Diversity Program, please contact Diane Mase, Assistant Vice President, at (203) 294-7330 or mase@chime.org. |
Invitations for Bid and Opportunities
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| And Finally |
I have been asked to deliver the WEB Dubois Public Policy Lecture at the Beta Sigma Boule of Springfield, MA on May 8 (127 State Street at the Community Music School of Springfield 5:30 PM to 8:30). I was asked to speak because of my work in MBE development in the region and the nation.
My talk is entitled "Black Entrepreneurship: A Call to Action". I have been asked on many occasions why there are not more very large Black owned businesses in the United States. The subtext of this question is: What is wrong that keeps African Americans from creating the next Google or Apple or ESPN. My talk will address this question using all of my experience of business and entrepreneurship and the history of this country that helps us understand the current state of Black Entrepreneurship and why it is imperative that we increase the success, scale and growth of Black entrepreneurs. (To my Asian, Native American, and Hispanic brothers and sisters I would be glad to address this issue with specifics for each group.)
Without trying to give my entire speech in this column, I want to bring up one important event in our national history that few people are aware of today, but had profound effects on the state of Black entrepreneurship today.
In the early 20th century a community of former slaves moved from places like Mississippi, Arkansas and South Carolina to Oklahoma which at that was territory set aside for relocated Native Americans (the "Trail of Tears"). These early migrants to Tulsa, because of the establishment of Jim Crow laws ("separate and unequal"), had to fend for themselves. In the process, they created their own economy. By 1920, Greenwood section of North Tulsa was completely segregated, and the black residents owned over 600 businesses including 4 hotels, 21 churches, 2 newspapers, 30 grocery stores, hospital, a bank, 21 restaurants, 15 lawyers, 20 physicians, and a bus system. All of this economic activity for about 10,000 African American residents. In this section alone there were more Black millionaires than in the entire United States, which is why the New York Times labeled the community "Black Wall Street". In 1920 there were only 21 airplane in all of Oklahoma, Blacks in Greenwood owned 6 of them. It was the most thriving African Americans in the country in 1920 and Blacks from all over the country were coming to learn from this successful experience.
But this was also a time of overt American terrorism against Blacks. The KKK numbered over 100,000 card-carrying members in Oklahoma. (Over 5,000,000 million Americans were in the Klan at that time, numbering almost as many Blacks in the country.) Racism was rampant. And the racists could not allow this level of success. So on the evening of May 31, 1921, the Klan burned Greenwood, all 35 square blocks to the ground murdering over 100 residents and injuring hundreds more. The surviving entrepreneurs fled the area and the despite some attempts to revitalize the economic community, that level of risk and racism was impossible to overcome.
The impact of this was not just on Greenwood. The national Black press at the time covered the aftermath of the pogrom. What was the message to blacks for generations to come? Do not seek success that outstrips whites, even if it is for your own. So a generation of Blacks were psychologically scarred and intimidated. And to think this was less than 100 years ago.
Fast forward to today. There are new challenges, but this threat is no more. It is imperative that Black entrepreneurs use their accumulated wealth and experience to build the substantial businesses of tomorrow. Today the challenge is global. There are no "protected" and segregated markets for entrepreneurs. All entrepreneurs today if they are to thrive must develop solutions for all consumers. Black entrepreneurs today must also be able and wiling to compete in all markets.
Time and history move slowly for the living, but I believe we are at the cusp of new Greenwoods around the country. And I believe that the work we do at the NMSDC is going to be central to the creation of this new wealth. And more importantly, I believe that the inclusion of Blacks in the accumulation of wealth will make this country and all of its residents better off.
In your service
Dr. Fred
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