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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| 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.
We are also requesting certified MBEs to submit a short article that can be included in the final report. The short article can address how the Council has assisted the development of your company or how your company has contributed to increasing employment in the area. Articles need to be submitted to fmckinney@gnemsdc.org no later than November 1, 2012.
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.org to 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. As of last week we are at 95 percent of capacity for the room at Fenway.
Here is the Agenda for the day. |
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:
- November 8 - Turner School of Construction Management Graduation, Please join us on the evening of Thursday November 8th to recognize the individuals who are graduating from the 9th Turner School of Construction Management in Massachusetts. Networking with current and previous M/WBE graduates of the program will begin at 5 pm with dinner and a brief ceremony starting at 5:30 pm.
- 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
- December 13 - GNEMSDC Quarterly Meeting at Banneker Industries 582 Great Road, North Smithfield, RI. The final Quarterly Meeting of the year is hosted by a certified MBE. On behalf of the GNEMSDC board of directors we thank our friends at Banneker Industries for inviting us to their headquarters.
- April 25, 2013 - Annual Awards Gala - Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center, MA
- June 10, 2013- MA Golf Outing- Ferncroft Golf Club, Middleton MA
- July 12, 2013- CT Golf Outing- Lyman Orchards Golf Club, Middlefield CT
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Opportunities
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- 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 have plenty of opportunities for MBEs
- Positions at Treasurer's Office Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Position at CT Lottery
- 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 atwww.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
- State of Connecticut Contract Analyst Exam is coming up. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply
- Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) is inviting MBEs in the Greater Springfield area and other high growth MBEs throughout the Commonwealth to participate in its Tools to Grow Pilot program. For more information see the attached document
- Opportunities with the Town of Waterford: Opportunity 1 Opportunity 2
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Nomination Season is Upon Us
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| The Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for 2013 awards in CT. The various categories of awards and the award nomination instructions are included in the link here.
It is also not too soon for corporations and MBEs to begin thinking about the 2013 GNEMSDC Awards Gala on April 25 in Framingham, MA. Corporate buyers and supplier diversity managers should begin reviewing the performance of their top MBEs. And MBEs need to begin thinking about corporate supplier diversity managers and corporate buyers who have gone the extra mile on their behalf.
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| 2012 NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair |
 Wow best describes the NMSDC National Conference and Expo in Denver, CO last week. It was a well attended event with hundreds of corporate members and impressive MBEs from all over the world. The trade show was well attended with willing and eager representatives from our corporate membership and MBEs.
This was the first year in several that the GNEMSDC did not exhibit at the show. It gave me the opportunity to freely roam the trade show floor and spend as much time as possible speaking with friends, colleagues, customers and prospects. I would however like to acknowledge the GNEMSDC corporate members who exhibited at the show:
- United Technologies Corporation
- Staples
- Liberty Mutual
- Raytheon
- AT&T
- General Dynamics/Electric Boat
- United States Postal Service
- RBS/Citizens Bank
- CVS/Caremark
- Liberty Power
- UPS
- Bank of America
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- CB Richard Ellis
- Caesars Entertainment Corporation
- Colgate-Palmolive Company
- Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
- Compass Group, North America Division
- The Walt Disney Company
- Ernst and Young
- The Federal Reserve System
- Honda of America
- IBM
- JP Morgan Chase
- Johnson and Johnson
- Johnson Controls
- Jones Lang LaSalle
- Kelly Services
- Kraft Food Group
- MGM Resorts
- Medtronic
- Merck & Company
- Milennium: The Takeda Oncology Company
- Northrop Grumman Corporation
- Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation
- Novation
- Office Max
- PepsiCo
- Pfizer
- Pitney Bowes
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
- Procter & Gamble Company
- Scientific Games
- Starbucks
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
- TJX Companies
- Turner Construction
- Tyco International
- URS Corporation
- UPS
- United Rentals
- Xerox Corporation
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| St Francis Hospital Supplier Diversity Vendor Fair |
 On October 22, St. Francis Hospital had a wonderful Supplier Diversity Vendor Fair at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Hartford. The event featured CEO of St. Francis Christopher Dadlez and his entire senior team. The event allowed MBEs to exhibit during the program.
The event was particularly special for me because my esteemed counterpart from the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, Ms. Sheila Morgan came to town to visit and was able to see the types of events we support and participate in.
This program was managed by the very capable Yvonne Davis of Davis Communications. Good job Yvonne. We look to work with other corporate members in the region to host and organize these types of events. This is a very efficient way of super-charging your supplier diversity program!
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| Mosaic Global Transportation Wins National NMSDC Supplier of the Year Award |
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GNEMSDC and Boston MBDA Center Congratulations to Mosaic Global Transportation!!!
Mosaic Global Transportation is a S Corporation, which is a certified minority owned business committed to outstanding personal service. With headquarters conveniently located in Redwood City, California, between the metropolises of San Francisco and San Jose, we have been serving the Bay Area since 1998, and offering worldwide services since 2003.
Mosaic Global Transportation is an international, minority owned, sedan, limousine and shuttle business, with over 300 vehicles in our network worldwide. We serve a variety of needs including corporate transportation of all kind, Wine Tours, Nights Out on the Town, Airport Transfers and Shuttle Services, in our late model Town Cars, SUV's, Vans, Limos and Coaches.
Our Value Proposition simply stated, is we offer you a one stop shop option, for ground transportation services anywhere in the world, at competitive rates.
Mosaic Global Transportation is a reciprocal with the GNEMSDC and a member of the MBDA Boston Business Center.
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| Closing the Deal - Mosaic Global Transportation |
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Mosaic Global Transportation had a very busy and successful week, as the article above attest. Last week, Maurice Brewster, Serafin Mariel and Antonio Acevedo sign loan deal with BCF day before winning supplier of the year award and thanks Boston MBDA at awards gala.
The BCF has money to lend! If your company needs a loan, why not use the services that were specifically designed for certified MBEs in the NMSDC network? For more information on the BCF visit, www.bcfcapital.com. |
| Resident Owned Business Enterprises - Section 3 Opportunities |
Last month the GNEMSDC won a contract with the Bridgeport Housing Authority (BHA) to provide entrepreneurial training for residents. One of the main factors motivating BHA is the obligation of BHA to develop and utilize resident owned enterprises (Section 3) for opportunities with the BHA. The BHA, like other housing authorities across the country, spend a significant amount of federal money (primarily from the Department of Housing and Urban Development) on the maintenance of their facilities and the construction of new facilities. In addition to the training we are providing to residents, we are also identifying where there are opportunities for Section 3 businesses to provide goods and services for the BHA. As part of our work with the BHA we are exploring opportunities for Section 3 program participants to partner with established certified MBEs. Our approach is designed to create opportunities for Section 3 business owners, certified MBEs and the BHA to all meet their goals and needs. With this in mind we have created a framework for how certified MBEs and Section 3 businesses can work together. The framework for certified MBEs and Section 3 businesses is very important. The framework addresses the following issues:
- Certification
- Ownership
- Management
- Control
- Banking
- Payroll and HR
- Taxes
- Infrastructure and Shared Resources
- Conflicts of Interests
- Internal Transfers
- Public Relations
- Contracts and RFPs
- Continuing Education
- Marketing
Certified MBEs interested in learning more about the opportunities and the requirements of working with Section 3 businesses should call the Council. We are looking to match some outstanding businesses with some aspiring entrepreneurs that will have a lasting impact on communities in need. We will hold our first meeting with potential entrepreneurs on November 13 in Bridgeport at the Gary Crooks Center at 10 am and later that same day at 7:00 pm.
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| SBA 8a Program - Yes it is Still Here! |
 The SBA's 8a program has been a central feature of the Federal government's effort to build minority businesses since the Nixon Administration. Recently, the GNEMSDC has agreed to assist the CT Regional SBA office with an outreach effort to increase the numbers of MBEs participating in this program. Having this certification can be of great value to MBEs who are seeking to enter the federal procurement space. We encourage MBEs to take a look at the the attached presentation and give us a call if you are interested in learning more about how this iconic program can help you grow your business. Our goal is to grow the number and quality of 8a firms here in Connecticut. There are millions of dollars of opportunities designed specifically for 8a firms. |
| The GNEMSDC is MOVING! |
 The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is moving our main office from Hamden Connecticut to Bridgeport, Connecticut. This move is the third move and a represents a return to our roots. In 1975, the Connecticut Minority Purchasing Council was founded in Bridgeport, CT. From Bridgeport,w we moved to New Haven, CT, and from New Haven to Hamden. And now we are back in Bridgeport.
Our new location is 333 State Street, Bridgeport. We have great neighbors in our new offices. The Mayor's office is across the street. Housatonic Community College is directly behind us. The Federal Court House is across the street. The Connecticut Post Newspaper is on the other corner. One block down State Street is Congressman Himes' office. And two blocks away is the Bridgeport train station.
The new space will allow us to hold larger meetings and trainings. The space also will allow us to rent space to MBEs interested in sharing our space. All they will need to do is bring their laptops and plug in. If you are interested in renting some space, contact the office. There is a limited amount of this type of space.
We are looking forward to our opening later this month. We have some very exciting announcements to make in coming weeks. Stay tuned.
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And Finally...
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This time next week we hopefully will have the results of a long bitterly contested race for the White House. Will it be incumbent President Obama or his Republican challenger Governor Romney who takes on the mantel of President of the United States? Every four years we hear that this is the most important election ever. Once again we have heard this hyperbole. It is without question the most expensive election ever, with well over $1 billion spent on trying to convince the American people that one candidate has more of what it takes to lead this great country, and the other candidate is the wrong choice. After all of the campaign ads have stopped, it will be time for the vast majority of American voters to vote. That important act expressing our individual stake in the democratic process is influenced by those ads, but it is ultimately an intimate secretive act, done behind a pulled black curtain, that reveals to no one our desire for the direction of the country as embodied by our presidential choice. The right to vote was denied my grandparents until long after I was born. A heavy price was paid for the privilege to vote. It is an important choice that is not simply a game for pundits and financiers to speculate over. It is about the future of little children, of their grandmothers, of college students, women of all ages, immigrants - documented and undocumented, wars in foreign lands, large businesses and small businesses, the poor, the homeless, and Americans of all regions, races and religions. It is our vote and their is nothing more important than exercising that vote tomorrow. Please, I implore you to vote. I implore you to tell your friends, families and neighbors to vote. And after it is all over Tuesday night, in quiet reflection, hope that the damage done to our national fiber will heal quickly and not fester for four more long years. It is long time we recognized our common American-ness, but more importantly we must humbly and reverently recognize our common humanity. Vote!
In your service,
Dr. Fred
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