Southern California Regional Purchasing Councils Showcase Top Minority-Owned Businesses

Nonprofit Socal Reg. Purchasing Council To Spotlight it's Best Minority Suppliers At Two-Day Affair Southern California Regional Purchasing Councils Contract Conference Center ("C3") Will Make Its Debut At MBOD 2002

LONG BEACH, CA For the first time ever, the Southern California Regional Purchasing Councils, Inc. (SCRPC) is combining the 33rd Annual "Minority Business Opportunity Day" Trade Fair (MBOD 2002) with the Annual Economic Development Award Dinner. The double-header allows MBOD attendees to also attend the 18th annual dinner. This year's theme is "strategies in a new economy."

The MBOD Trade is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, February 12 and 13, 2002, at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. One of the nation's largest trade fairs of its kind, MBOD is a two-day event, which brings together representatives of major corporations (and other major purchasers) and minority business owners in a one-stop marketing environment, for the purpose of discussing possible procurement opportunities. This year it will feature more than a hundred exhibits and booths.

This year's breakfast keynote speaker is Attorney Anthony W. Robinson, who is president of the Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (MBELDEF), which was founded and established in 1980 by former Maryland Congressman Parren J. Mitchell to act as a national advocate and legal representative for the minority business community.

Other speakers include: Chairman John Chiang, Los Angeles, California Equalization Board; Beverly O'Neill, mayor, City of Long Beach and the Dinner Chairperson is Janice Bryant Howroyd, Pres., ACT-I, one of the largest minority woman-owned staffing company in the US and the largest woman-owned business in Los Angeles County.

The Economic Development Award Dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12, 2002, 6:00 p.m., at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel. The Economic Award Dinner is a black tie event that gives the Councils and its members the opportunity to recognize and honor an officer from one of the major SCRPC corporate sponsors, which has proven to be a true champion in supplier diversity.

Dinner honorees for the SCRPC's 18th Annual Economic Development Leadership Awards include the following corporations as nominees for National Corporation of the Year: American Honda Motors, Raytheon Company, The Boeing Company, and Sempra Energy. Local Corporation of the Year Nominees for the Economic Development Leadership Awards includes: L.A. Department of Water and Power, Toyota Motor Sales, and Union Bank of California. The winners of the Economic Development Leadership Awards in each category of National Corporation of the Year and of Local Corporation of the Year will be announced at the Dinner.

The process for this year's Economic Development Awards Dinner is different than past years. We've asked SCRPC's Minority Business Input Committee (MBEIC) to select the best corporate members in terms of successfully demonstrating growth in minority contracts, opportunities, outreach and education, as well as community growth and development. Out of all the companies nominated, the finalists for National and local Corporation of the Year, respectively, were determined as those listed above. This year's Dinner Chair is Janice Bryant Howroyd, President of ACT-I one of the largest minority woman-owned staffing company in the US and the largest woman-owned business in Los Angeles County. The Awards Dinner is on the first night of the two-day MBOD trade fair.

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"We have an MBOD 2002 Trade Fair Steering Committee consisting of corporate members, suppliers and government agency representatives, explained SCRPC's Executive Director, Peter Wiersma. "They have all worked diligently to make this event a really productive experience for every participant."
Due to the combined event, the SCRPC has instituted Super Sponsorship levels to indicate the commitment of some corporations to be title sponsors of the combined MBOD 2002 and the Annual Economic Development Dinner events. The levels are Super Platinum, Super Gold, Super Silver and Super Bronze (non-Exhibitors).

Super Platinum sponsors include: American Honda, AT&T, BP, Raytheon Company, Sempra Energy, The Boeing Company, and Toyota Motor Sales.

The SCRPC event Super Gold sponsors are: Chevron Products Co., Union Bank of California, WellPoint Health Networks, and WorldCom, Inc.

The SCRPC Super Silver Sponsors include: Bank of America, L.A. Dept. of Water & Power, Northrop Grumman, SBC / Pacific Bell, Shell Oil Equilon, Sprint, TRW, United Parcel Service, and Wells Fargo & Co.,

MBOD 2002 will feature seminars and workshops designed to generate discussions that give minority business owners 'hard facts' and insights on how to do business with various majority purchasers, trends in purchasing, e-commerce, etc.

2002 MBOD SEMINARS

Seminar 1 - Trends and Issues in Corporate Purchasing

This session will highlight the trends and issues in purchasing that small and minority business' need to be aware of in today's fast changing market place. Come and learn about the latest changes in corporate procurement and what the small and minority business owner needs to prepare for to meet Corporation Procurement demands.

Seminar 2 - Strategic Partnerships and Alliances for Small Business

Small business owners will share their real-life experiences in developing successful Strategic Partnerships and Alliances. Attendees wil learn to benchmark and learn how to develop a successful strategy that will enhance their business potential.

Seminar 3 - Business Opportunities in the Public Sector

The Public Sector offers many procurement opportunities for the small and minority business. This seminar will highlight business opportunities available in the Public Sector to successfully grow a business. Participants will learn to avoid the pitfalls that so often hinder the small and minority business when marketing to the Public Sector.

Seminar 4 - Negotiating Skills for the Buyer

This session offers the opportunity for buyers to learn how to negotiate like the professionals do. Some of what buyers will learn includes: the 3 basics of negotiations, tactics and counter tactics of effective negotiations, negotiating a strong deal from a weak position, and avoiding the 13 mistakes amateur negotiators make - to name a few.

"The basic format of MBOD's Trade Fair is the MBE program administrators and buyers/end-users in the exhibit booth," said Executive Director Wiersma. "The Trade Fair allows minority business owners to cluster numerous sales calls in one day, with dozens of Fortune 500 companies and other buying institutions. And because so many of our corporate exhibitors are professionally curious to see who else is exhibiting, this year we are encouraging our MBE business owners to consider exhibiting in a booth. More than 150 booths are available for exhibitors in all product and service areas."

The Contract Conference Center ("C3") will make its debut at MBOD 2002.

"C3 is an appointment driven center that will allow corporate representatives who have previously identified real purchasing needs for 2002 meet with minority businesses who have been pre-matched to the corporate need," explained Wiersma. "C3 will transcend the traditional protocol of merely exchanging business cards by having a meaningful one-on-one meeting that has been pre-arranged for the purpose of closing a deal."

Exhibit booths are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to the workshops, Sponsors Breakfast, Contract Conference Center and Trade Fair, other highlights of the two-day program include the Annual Economic Development Award Dinner and the Purchasing Councils' Joint Annual Meeting Luncheon (the Annual Meeting-Luncheon and Award Dinner are non-MBOD activities).

Founded in 1975, SCRPC is a non-profit public benefit corporation, involved in economic development. The Councils' mission is to expand business opportunities for minority suppliers and encourage mutually beneficial economic links between minority enterprises, and its nearly 300 members (major corporations). One of 39 regional councils in the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) network, SCRPC serves a 13-county area in Southern California. SCRPC also has three divisions: the Central Valley and Greater San Diego Business Development Councils and the Orange County Purchasing Council.

About Southern California Regional Purchasing Council (SCRPC)

Southern California Regional Purchasing Council is a nonprofit (501)©(3) California Public benefit Corporation. Established in 1975, SCRPC represents the local outreach to minority enterprises in Southern California. SCRPC's mission is to expand business opportunities for minority suppliers and to encourage mutually beneficial economic links between minority enterprises and corporate members. For more information on the SCRPC and minority opportunities please visit their website at www.scrpc.org.

SCRPC is one of 39 regional councils in the NMSDC network. NMSDC provides extended outreach to members of SCRPC and access to more than 3,500 corporations and more than 15,000 certified minority-owned businesses. The SCRPC will be hosting The national conference in Los Angeles this Fall.

Founded in 1975, SCRPC is a non-profit public benefit corporation, involved in economic development. The Councils' mission is to expand business opportunities for minority suppliers and encourage mutually beneficial economic links between minority enterprises, and its 260 members (major corporations). One of 39 regional councils in the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) network, SCRPC serves a 13-county area in Southern California. SCRPC also has three divisions: the Central Valley and Greater San Diego Business Development Councils and the Orange County Purchasing Council.

Contact: Eddie H. Serna
Company: S.C.R.P.C
Title: Marketing Mgr.
Phone: 213-689-6967
Email: eddie@scrpcmail.org

Contact: Aida Mayo
Company: MAYO Communications
Title: President
Phone: 818-340-5300
Email: amayo@MayoCommunications.com
Cell: 818-618-9229