Registration is underway for the 2006 Business Opportunity Fair (BOF), which will take place on June 15 at America’s Centre in downtown St. Louis. Be sure to register early to guarantee your place at the SLMBC’s largest event of the year.

Themed “Stepping Up to the Plate for Progress,” BOF activities will kick off with a reception at the Roberts Mayfair Hotel on June 14.

And, in keeping with BOF tradition, the festivities will continue the next day with two distinguished guest speakers. Emanuel Cleaver II, U.S. Congressman and pastor of St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo., will provide the keynote address for the BOF breakfast assembly. Congressman Cleaver made history as the first African-American mayor of Kansas City. He is also a former university professor and radio talk show host.

E. Stanley O’Neal, chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. will deliver the BOF luncheon remarks. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. is a trillion-dollar company with offices in more than 30 countries. 

If you have not received your registration form, please call the SLMBC office at (314) 241-1143. After March 31, you can access registration information online at www.slmbc.org. 

Stay tuned for more news about the 2006 BOF in future issues of Connections. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s event!

On Monday, April 4 the SLMBC will host the 2006 spring general membership meeting and corporate education workshop, respectively. Held at Washington University’s Knight Center, the events will provide an opportunity for MBEs and corporate members to get up to speed on the latest developments of the SLMBC.

From 7:30 to 9 a.m., meeting attendees will hear about the SLMBC’s exciting partnerships, programs, and events, including the development and launch of the Focused Growth Program, a program made possible by funding from the AmerenCDC and a partnership with Civic Progress. We’ll also preview the Virtual Information Community – the SLMBC’s inaugural technology program.

Ralph Moore, president of RGMA, will also be on hand to briefly discuss the keys to building a strong supplier diversity program. 

Corporate members are encouraged to attend Ralph Moore’s workshop “Enhancing Your Supplier Diversity Process Action Plan: The Alignment of Strategy, Structure and Culture.” The workshop will be held immediately following the membership meeting, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Moore will offer participants in-depth information on the tools and framework needed to improve and enhance their supplier diversity programs. Corporate members will also have the chance to share their experiences. Other topics and activities for the day include:

• Benchmarking participant’s programs
• Updating the supplier diversity value proposition
• Discussing the importance of MBE capacity building strategies
• Reviewing approaches for integrating supplier diversity into strategic sourcing
• Exploring best practices in second tier program management
• Examining how to integrate lessons learned into participant’s action plans

There is still time to RSVP for these important events. Please contact Valerie Shelton at (314) 241-1143 or vshelton@slmbc.org by March 31.

Spring into Action with the SLMBC: Spring Membership Meeting and Corporate Education Series Workshop are a Don’t Miss

In preparation for the Business Opportunity Fair, SLMBC will sponsor a Marketing 101 workshop for MBEs.  Marketing 101 will be taught in three modules: A plan for perfecting a marketing approach for your business, a step-by-step process to differentiate prospects from suspects, and an outline for how to make a trade show work for you. 

Dr. Kelvyn A. Moore, currently Assistant Professor at Clark Atlanta University and consultant with the SLMBC, will facilitate this education series.

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to prepare for the June 15^th SLMBC Business Opportunity Fair. 

Date:  Friday, April 14, 2006

Time:  8 – 11:30 a.m.

Place: St. Louis Minority Business Council

            308 N. 21^st Street, 7^th Floor

            St. Louis, MO 63103

Attendees are asked to bring their top clients/top ten prospects lists and trade show goals.  Please RSVP to Tamara Moore, 314-241-1143 or tmoore@slmbc.org by Wednesday, April 14.

Thanks to an $185,000 grant from AmerenCDC, the SLMBC has launched the Focused Growth Program (FGP), a program targeting entrepreneurs who know their industries well but face challenges growing their already successful businesses. The FGP gives participants access to a team of business experts whose main focus is to help the company grow through increased market share, larger staffs, and higher earnings. The program utilizes four key approaches to put selected entrepreneurs on the road to long-term business success:

• Mentor-protégé relationships
• Business health assessments
• Executive education
• Capitalization strategies

Candidates for FGP must have had profitable business operations over the last two calendar years; annual revenues that exceed $500,000; and/or own companies that are in growth markets.

For more details on the FGP and to access an online FGP application, visit www.slmbc.org. Also, check your monthly Connections newsletter for the latest news and updates on the FGP.

Congratulations to five SLMBC member corporations for being named to Fortune magazine’s “Most Admired List.” They are:

• Anheuser-Busch Companies, first in the beverages category.
• Peabody Energy, second in the mining and crude oil production category.
• Emerson, third in the electronics category.
• Graybar Electric, third in the wholesales of electronics and office equipment category
• A.G. Edwards, sixth in the securities category.

The St. Louis Business Journal and St. Louis Small Business Monthly recently recognized several MBEs for their outstanding accomplishments in business.

The St. Louis Business Journal recognized the 2006 Most Influential Minority Business Leaders at its annual awards luncheon in early March. Honorees included:

• Kathy Conley Jones – Owner, The Conley Financial Group
• Reginald Dickson – Principal, Buford, Dickson, Harper & Sparrow Inc.
• Sandra Moore – President, Urban Strategies
• Todd Weaver – President, Legacy Building Group LLC

St. Louis Small Business Monthly announced its list of St. Louis’ Top Women Business Owners. MBEs included:

• Carmen Jacob – NextGen Information Services
• Audrey Jones – Arch Concessions Partnership
• Kathy Conley Jones – The Conley Financial Group
• Kimberly MacLean – Druids Woodworking, Inc.
• Annetta Vickers – T.A.B. Company, Inc.
• Dorrie Wise – DKW Construction Company, Inc.

Congratulations to all of our MBE honorees!

The SLMBC welcomes the following newly certified MBEs and reciprocal MBEs:

Premier Electric of Missouri, Inc. - Sherman McCoy, President

Service Contractor – Electrical www.peofmissouri.com

Thomas Consultants, LLC – Patricia Thomas, President/Founder

Professional Consultants – Ethics Training

Crystal Environmental Group, Inc. – Frances Quiroz, President

Construction – Remediation

Optimos, Incorporated – Sanjay Puri, President

Professional Consultants – IT Program/Design