SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
SCMBDC Business Networking Reception Minority Entrepreneurs Make Connections and Create Value
F
or Tom Nguyen, senior partner of Win- Corp Solutions, it was an opportu- nity to interact with decision mak- ers. Rita Fabra, owner of We Care Company, was hoping to “break through” larger corporations, while Ter- uko Weinberg, presi- dent of Teruko Wein- berg Inc., wanted to get the word out about her human resource consult- ing firm.
These minority entrepreneurs were among the 70 ex- hibitors
and
ment of Water & Power; Metro; Northrop Grum- man Corporation; Southern California Gas Company; Verizon; The Walt Disney Company; Southern California Con- tractors Association; Brutoco En- gineering & Construction, Inc.; Doty Bros; Maxim Crane; PAR Electrical Contractors, and Kiewit Pacific.
more
than 300 attendees at Southern California Minority Business De- velopment Council’s (SC- MBDC) annual event, The Power of Relationships: Mak- ing Connections and Creating Val- ue for Businesses, held September 8 at Southern California Edison’s headquarters in Rosemead, California. The networking event was organized by the council’s Mi- nority Business Enterprise Input Committee (MBEIC), which comprises minority business owners who provide the council with feedback on its programs and services, and is sponsored by Edison and Metropolitan Water District of Southern Cali- fornia. The business-to-business event featured its second con-
secutive “reverse trade fair,” where minority business enter- prises (MBEs) served as exhibitors, while procurement pro- fessionals, corporate buyers, supplier diversity representatives, minority businesses and others visited the table-top displays. The event also provided networking opportunities for non- exhibitors and others during the reception. Among those in attendance were representatives from Metropolitan Water District; Edison; Amgen; AT&T; Fluor Corporation; General Services Administration; Jones Lang LaSalle; MBDA Business Center, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County; Los Angeles World Airports; Los Angeles Depart-
26 HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE
“The reverse trade fair concept was initially dif- ficult to grasp, but it’s fi- nally catching on,” said Rita Vigil-Ferguson, who has served as event chair for the past three years. She is also an MBEIC member and president of G&F Concrete Cutting, Inc. “Last year, we needed to edu- cate people about what to ex-
pect. The interest was far greater this year,” she adds.
MBE exhibitors, each of whom
paid $50 to participate, represented a wide range of industries, including construc- tion, information technology, staffing, marketing
and more. Pat Watts, MBEIC chair and president and CEO of FCI Man-
agement Consultants, added that the event was “a resounding success. We’ve heard from several MBEs who said they received solid business leads and possible contract opportunities.” “The reverse trade fair was an excellent opportunity to con-
nect Southern California Contractors Association’s (SCCA) con- tracting community with SCMBDC’s membership to provide a nexus to contracting opportunities and future business relation- ships,” says Larry Russell, executive vice president of SCCA, which represents contractors in the construction industry, includ- ing operating engineers, laborers, cement masons, ironworkers, and carpenters. “We were glad to participate and look forward to working with SCMBDC moving forward.” Armen Nalbandian, sales engineer for Ronan Engineering Co., said, “This is beyond what we expected—we see potential business leads as a result of our participation.”
Source: SCMBDC Celebrating 19 Years of Diversity
www.hnmagazine.com
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