2014 GALP Program Schedule
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 We are pleased to announce the second year of the GNEMSDC Advanced Leadership Program (GALP). The program consists of 5 full-day sessions led by outstanding business professors and writers. The professors in this program represent the best executive educators in the world, and are from the top business schools in the world. The GALP faculty includes, Steven Rogers of the Harvard Business School, David Hinson, former National Director of the MBDA. Olav Sorensen of Yale School of Management, and Jeffrey Fox, best-selling author of "How to Become a Rainmaker" and other top selling business books.
Steven Rogers (photo above), professor of business at Harvard Business School is the featured presenter this week. Professor Rogers was one of the primary faculty members of the NMSDC Advanced Management Program when he was at the Kellogg School at Northwestern. Professor Rogers will cover the topic ofr "Entrepreneurial Finance". This week we will have two CEOs for the afternoon, Kevin Kelleher of Cartus Corporation and Anne Noble of Connecticut Lottery. Last week we were fortunate to have U.S .Congressman Jim Himes for lunch.
Program Schedule:
Participants will receive a certificate signed by all professors in the program. This year we are proud to have the generous support of the Fairfield County Community Foundation. We also want to thank Bank of America for supporting an MBE to participate in this year's class.
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Boston MBDA CEO Roundtable Forum, October 30
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The Palladium Room * 2 Copley Place, 4th Floor * Boston, MA 02116
Featuring:
Rita Hardiman, Director, EEO, Diversity & DBE Management, Keolis
Bill Boodry, Manager of Purchasing & Materials, Keolis
Jill Griffin, Director of Workforce, Supplier and Diversity Development,MA Gaming Commission
The CEO Roundtable is designed to provide support for MBEs, by:
*providing topical information and insights
*promoting mutual business relationships
*providing a forum for sharing business intelligence and contacts
*facilitating mutual support and sharing best practices
Space is limited * Please RSVP by 10/24
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RSVP for the 6th Annual Supplier Diversity
Best Practices Forum, November 20 |
The Boston MBDA Business Center, Center for Women & Enterprise & the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council invite you to attend the 6th Annual Supplier Diversity Best Practices Forum! This event will feature a discussion of winning Supplier Diversity practices by Corporate and W/MBE Business Leaders. The full list of speakers will be announced shortly.
When: Thurs, November 20 (8:00am - 12:00pm) Where: State Street Pavilion at Fenway Park (40 Yawkey Way, Boston, MA) RSVP by November 12 at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-supplier-diversity-best-practices-forum-tickets-9906631000 |
Nov 20 Best Practices Forum Sponsorship & Ad Opportunities
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| Sponsorship & advertisement opportunities in the 6th Annual Supplier Diversity Best Practices Forum are available! Don't miss your chance to display your company's name on the main scoreboard at Fenway Park! Please contact Joanne at jwang@bostonmbdacenter.com for more details! |
Congratulations to the MBE Shark Tank Winners
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 Donna Gittens MORE Advertising 1st Place Winner $2,500 
Ramon Peralta
Peralta Design
2nd Place Winner $1,500
Ray Boa
A & J Construction
3rd Place Winner $1,000
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The Hartford Diversity Awareness Event
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 Congratulations to The Hartford for hosting their 1st Diversity Awareness Event. This event took place during the course of 3 days and spanned throughout all of their 3 campuses in CT. Not only was it a success because of the connections that were made. It was an excellent platform to engage different employees at The Hartford to talk about the GNEMSDC and help them understand what we do as an organization on their behalf as corporate members. Thank you to Bob Pilney Robert.Pilney@thehartford.com and Telmo Costa for hosting the GNEMSDC and all others that attended. The purpose of this event was to raise awareness around the importance of supporting and understanding the needs of diverse small businesses, with special attention to:
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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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DCAMM Opportunity Fair, 11/6
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 Connecting Businesses Sharing Upcoming Public Projects Team Building & Networking Thursday, November 6 (4pm-7pm) Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center 1350 Tremont Street, Roxbury, MA 02120 Workshops:
Register here!
For more information contact Suzzette Waters at 857.204.1467
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Can your business survive a disaster?
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According to the Red Cross 40% of businesses do not reopen after a disaster. A Disaster Recovery Plan can increase your chances of survival. Please go to www.PrepareCT.com for more information or email Andres Lopez alopez@gnemsdc.org for one on one consultation. Get ready today to develop a Disaster Recovery Plan.
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Corporate Member of the Week:
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
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 Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center is fully committed to being proactive and responsive by engaging with businesses that reflect the communities in which we live, work, and serve. Saint Francis established our Supplier Diversity Program to cultivate and develop meaningful relationships with minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, and small business enterprises.
By fostering these relationships, we are in a position to identify and access business and/or contract opportunities to various diverse business enterprises, while sustaining long-term healthcare success at Saint Francis.
Saint Francis ensures all suppliers have an equal opportunity to competitively participate in the procurement supply-chain process.
By doing this, Saint Francis accomplishes the following:
For more information on supplier diversity program, contract opportunities and upcoming events, please visit: http://www.saintfranciscare.com:81/index.aspx
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MBE of the Week: Fisher Contracting Corporation
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Fisher Contracting Corporation, a full service 8(a), WOSDB, M/WBE & DBE company located in Worcester, MA. Since 1988 we have been a family-owned minority business enterprise, focused on providing turnkey specialty contracting services. Working in a variety of business sectors from interior commercial demolition and construction clean-ups to bridge demolition and environmental remediation.
Fisher Contracting Corporation has both the experience and personal dedication to execute your project safely, on time, and within the constraints of your budget. Having started in Worcester, MA over 20 years ago, we pride ourselves in fostering long-term relationships with our clients and growing our business through honesty, integrity and innovation.
Services
Fisher Contracting Corporation headquarters is located in Worcester, MA. For more information visit the website at www.fishercontracting.us.
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Bridgeport MBDA Dream Catchers
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N-Touch Strategies, is a strategic consulting firm that specializes in bridging the gap between departmental functions and leadership to drive efficiency and revenue.
N-Touch Strategies develop a customized, profit-driven strategies that empower clients to achieve their business objectives and unleash business success. Areas of special focus include business growth, brand management, marketing and human resources strategies.
The N- Touch team of expects, led by CEO Natasha Williams, possess more than 30 years of industry experience in banking, entertainment, beauty, beverage, consumer packaged goods. N - Touch is especially skillful at creating business partnerships that are critical for rapid growth.
Ms. Williams most recently conducted the highly successful "Your Targeted Marketing Plan Workshop" at the MBDA National Training week held in Detroit, Michigan. She will repeat the workshop in early December 2014 at the GNEMSDC Training Center in Bridgeport, CT. Please make plans now to attend this hands on session.
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Invitations for Bid and Opportunities
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| FYI |
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Massachusetts Diversity Coalition Formed
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The GNEMSDC, the Boston MBDA Business Center along with the Center for Women Enterprises, the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce and others have created the Massachusetts Diversity Coalition. These advocacy and business development organizations first came together to promote the utilization of MBEs, WBEs and VBEs in the gaming industry. We have since expanded our focus to include all public and private sector developments.
Warren Bacon, the Project Director for the Boston MBDA Center is the Chairman of the Coalition. For more information, visit our new blog, www.madiversitycoalition.wordpress.com.
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GNEMSDC Community Business School is Back
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The Community Business School (CBS) will start Saturday morning October 11, 2014 but 9:00 AM at the 333 State Street in Bridgeport. Last year was the inaugural year for the CBS. This year, we are looking forward to another excellent program that is providing targeted entrepreneurial education to local small businesses and local entrepreneurs. I want to thank Valerie Cooper of Picture That, LLC and Ted Hsu of Horizon Services for taking a leadership role and organizing the curriculum and the speakers. Last year, Valerie and Ted were presenters, this year they are the "deans' of the CBS.
If you know any early stage entrepreneurs who want to attend this 12 week course in Bridgeport, please have them call Jennifer Little-Greer at 203-288-9744. And if any MBE or corporate member would like to come and share their entrepreneurial experiences with the CBS students, you are welcome to join us. I guarantee you - you will be energized by the experience.
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| Letter From Former GNEMSDC Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Carlos Perez |
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Hello Dr. McKinney,
My name is Carlos Perez & I'm not sure if you remember me but you and your organization presented me with your Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007. I have since graduated from UCONN & have been running my IT Consulting company for about 5 years. I wanted to email you personally and thank you for presenting me that award. Being recognized at such a young age motivated me to start my own company & things have gone great for me since. I have deployed IT projects for Fortune 100 companies across the country & have become a Microsoft Certified Engineer as well as made my company a Microsoft Certified Partner. I have never forgotten about that night at Aqua Turf & I thought it would be appropriate to reach out to you and thank you. You & your organization are in part responsible for my having become an entrepreneur & I'm very thankful. If there's anything I could do for you or your organization please do not hesitate to ask.
Kind Regards,
Carlos Perez
Principal Perez Technology Group
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| And Finally... |
The much anticipated ballot question that will decide whether or not to move forward with casino gaming has passionate support on both sides. Both proponents and opponents have legitimate concerns about the welfare of the Commonwealth. Those supporting the yes vote to squash casino gaming in the Commonwealth (Carlo Rotella Boston Globe 10/10/2014 "Why I am Voting for Casino Repeal"), argue that gaming is either not needed for economic development, not consistent with economic development, or encourages gambling addicts, and criminality, or all of the above. Those supporting the no vote argue that the economic development associated with the construction of new hotels and casinos along with the on-going economic activity will have multiplier effects that will benefit all residents of the Commonwealth.
The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) comes down firmly and clearly on the NO side of this debate. The GNEMSDC's mission is to promote the development of minority businesses throughout the region. The casino operators in Springfield, Plainville and Everett (and possibly another location in the southern part of the state), will generate over $1 billion just in new construction spending. Reports from Penn National and Turner Construction on the Plainville project are already showing great results with the utilization of minority businesses Currently, over 16 percent of current construction spending is being performed by minority businesses. With the leadership of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, I fully expect the MGM and Wynn to perform at least at this level of minority business inclusion. Each of the major operators, Penn National, MGM and Wynn are corporate members of the GNEMSDC.
As an economist, who has looked into the literature cited by Rotella and I can conclude that the literature does not adequately look at the potential for these types of "mega" projects to spur economic development in depressed industries and depressed communities. The fact of the matter is, minority businesses need the help. And if minority businesses can use this major investment in private infrastructure to build their businesses it is good for the long-term health of minority communities, even if the effect on the general business community is minor.
Remember the story of the man throwing star fish back into the ocean that were beached on the sand. When questioned that he could not possible save all of the beached starfish, the man picks one up and tosses it back in and says to his questioner, 'it made a difference for that one'. This could be said for minority businesses in the Commonwealth. Gaming can make a difference in ways that had not been the case with other economic activity.
The opportunities the gaming investment create don't just stop for minority construction firms. The casinos once opened, will have opportunities for minority businesses to supply all of the goods and services used by the industry. The GNEMSDC is working with MBEs in the region and the operators to help them get prepared for these non-construction opportunities that will bring jobs and income to communities in need.
Minority businesses need this investment. Please vote No.
In your service, Dr. Fred  |
