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News Flash! March 2005
Welcome To New Corporate Member The Council is pleased to welcome VWR International, a worldwide distributor of scientific supplies, as our newest corporate member. Regional Manager Chris Loyet, is the contact in St. Louis . For more information about the company, visit their website at www.vwr.com. Monsanto Hosts Buyer/Supplier Forum As part of a new program developed by the Council, Monsanto hosted the second Buyer/Supplier Forum on March 16. Approximately 20 Monsanto employees from various disciplines met with 14 MBEs for an in-depth discussion over lunch about available business opportunities. The MBEs were selected by the Monsanto employees based on their specific business needs. A reception followed, including top executives, to celebrate Supply Chain Management Month. Many thanks to Deb Lebryk for spearheading this event. Scholarship Honors Julia Holmes With the recent passing of long-time MBE and chair of the MBEI committee, Julia Holmes is being honored with an educational scholarship in her name. The SLMBC Board recently approved the scholarship to the J.L. Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University to be awarded in honor of Julia as a way to recognize her many accomplishments and to help inspire new MBEs. A special election of the MBEI Committee was held recently and Ben McMillan (Bentech, Inc.) was elected chair and Ivan James (United Technologies Systems) was elected vice-chair. Both have served on the committee for a number of years. Enterprise Leasing Awards New Contract Enterprise Leasing recently reported that ELB Janitorial was awarded the contract for their Weldon Springs Technology Center . This is a testament to the company's good work since ELB already has the contract to service Enterprise 's E-Commerce facility on St. Charles Rock Road . Kudos to Edmond Brown & company! University of Missouri Awards New Contracts The University of Missouri recently awarded new contracts to Capital International Communications, Centrex Electrical Supply Corp., Millennium Engineering & Sales and Valentine's Janitorial. Congratulations to all! The U.S. Small Business Administration's area office has announced that Brenda Newberry , owner of the Newberry Group in St. Charles , is the winner of the Small Business Person of the Year award for the St. Louis area. Congratulations to Brenda! Quarterly MBE Educational Series The Council is offering quarterly workshops covering specific topics of interest to business owners. The next workshop, "Alternative Financing Solutions," is Wednesday, April 21 from 8:30am - 10:30am.at Associated General Contractors, 6330 Knox Industrial Drive, Suite 200 .Call Valerie Shelton at 314-241-1443 to confirm your attendance. If you're looking for counseling, training or technical assistance to address your specific business needs, then look at what the Counsel is offering certified MBEs. It's specialized business support with assistance from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Every small business can learn more about finance, marketing, production, organization, or could use help with technical issues or feasibility studies. Kevin Wilson, Director of the Empowerment Zone Satellite Center of SBDC, will conduct counseling sessions on Wednesday afternoons by appointment at the Council's office. For more information, call Harry Moppins at the Council, 314-241-1143 or call Kevin directly at 314-621-0816. The Council is pleased to welcome the following new MBEs that were certified during the month of March: Dustless Cleaning Company (Janitorial Cleaning) GSM Development, LLC (Public Utilities Consultant) S. Bolen Realtors Co., LLC (Real Estate Sales and Management) Simms Building Group (Design and Build General Contractor) Tatum Enterprises The UPS Store (Creve Coeur) (Full Service Shipping and Office Services) Tamara Moore has been hired as "the voice of the Council." She is the new receptionist who will be the first to greet callers and visitors. Please join us in welcoming Tamara to the team. Save The Date For The BOF On June 15 It's THE event everyone who's anyone in business looks forward to. That's because the Council's Business Opportunity Fair is the only event in the area where hundreds of certified MBEs can showcase their products and services to hundreds of buyers and decision-makers. Mark your calendar now for June 15, and look for more information coming soon about this exciting, annual event. Corporate/MBE Educational Workshop Consultant Reggie Williams from Atlanta will be here to conduct a workshop on May 17 entitled "Supplier Diversity as a Business Advantage." The morning session from 9am to 12 noon will be directed to corporations and the afternoon session beginning at 1:30pm will be devoted to MBEs. In between there will be a brown bag lunch/networking session for all participants. The MBE session will also address "How to Work a Trade Show" to help you prepare for the BOF. The workshops will be held at World Wide Technology in Maryland Heights. Mark your calendar now and look for more details next month. Senator Jim Talent was in town recently for a presentation, discussion and reception with minority-owned and small businesses. Larry Dill from the Council as well as MBEs Gloria Carter Hicks, Keith Savage and Annetta Vickers were present to hear the Senator pledge his support and to assist in any way he can, especially in light of the recent ruling which would substantially reduce or virtually eliminate state contracts awarded to W/MBEs.Golf season is fast approaching and we're already planning the 2005 Annual Golf Tournament for September 22 (be sure to mark your calendar!). As you know, this a fundraiser to benefit the educational programs sponsored by the Council, and we want to be the best it can be and something you look forward to. To that end, we are asking for your feedback based on last year's tournament. Specifically. • Do you like the format? If not, how would you change it? • Do you like the time of day - beginning at noon? If not, what time do you prefer? • What other thoughts or suggestions do you have? Please email your response to Valerie Shelton : vshelton@slmbc.org For more information about ongoing programs and general meetings, see our calendar at www.slmbc.org |