Austin, TX, Oct. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
On Wednesday evening, October 17, the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC.org) hosted a black-tie banquet to honor its corporate members, certified minority business enterprises (MBEs), and network leaders for exceptional accomplishments in promoting minority supplier development.
The Gala, sponsored by Northrop Grumman, marked the culmination of NMSDC’s annual Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange, held this year at the Austin Convention Center in Texas. The Conference’s Corporate Co-Chairs were Dell, Toyota and Wells Fargo; the first-ever Corporate Plus® Co-Chair was ACRO Service Corporation; the MBE Co-Chair was Ongweoweh; and the Platinum Sponsor was Vista Equity Partners.
At the start of the Gala, the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, one of 23 regional councils of the NMSDC, was honored as Regional Council of the Year. The Harriet R. Michel Chairman’s Awards, recognizing outstanding contributions to the work and progress of NMSDC in the past year, went to Casilda Del Valle, NMSDC’s Vice President for Finance and Administration, who has worked at NMSDC for 40 years; and to Louis Green, outgoing Interim President of NMSDC.
Supplier of the Year awards were presented in four classes. In Class I, for businesses with up to $1 million annual revenue, Stellar Consulting Solutions was recognized. Supplier of the Year for Class II, with $1 million to $5 million in annual revenue, was Athena Engineering. Recognized in Class III ($5 million to $10 million annual revenue) was Premiere Building Maintenance Corporation. And the honoree for Class IV ($10 million and above in annual revenue) was Hal Hays Construction.
Corporations of the Year honors were also presented, in five classes. The Class I honoree ($1 billion to $10 billion in revenue) was EQT. In Class II ($11 billion to $50 billion revenue), Merck was recognized, and the Class III award ($50 billion to $100 billion revenue) went to Comcast NBCUniversal. There was no award in Class IV this year, but for Class V ($151 billion and above in revenue) the Corporation of the Year honor was presented to AT&T.
Corporations honored as Top Category Performers were: Bank of America (Financial); Walmart and FCA (Tier II); Toyota (Development); and CVS Health and The Coca-Cola Company (Innovation).
At the end of the presentations, Master of Ceremonies Chuck Nice introduced the final speaker of the evening, NMSDC President and CEO Adrienne Trimble, who reflected on the nearly 50 years of achievement by the NMSDC, transforming the relationship between minority suppliers and corporate America. She revealed that for next year, the NMSDC’s annual Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange would be held in Atlanta, with newly-announced Corporate Co-Chairs AT&T, Coca-Cola and UPS. In wrapping up, Ms. Trimble acknowledged the efforts of the NMSDC national staff, and thanked NMSDC Chair Joe Hinrichs and the Board members for entrusting to her the leadership of NMSDC.
Conference highlights included:
- MetLife-supported Emerging Young Entrepreneurs program’s intensive workshop;
- U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, kicking off its annual National Minority Enterprise Development Week;
- NFL star and real estate entrepreneur Emmitt Smith speaking at the Conference’s Opening Breakfast;
- Wells Fargo’s announcement of its sponsorship of NMSDC’s CEO Academy program;
- The Business Opportunity Exchange, a unique, national trade fair with more than 700 booths showcasing corporations and minority business enterprises looking to connect and extend their business dealings with one another;
- NMSDC’s Corporate Plus® programfeaturing some of its most successful corporate members, including Fortune 500 MasTec and the nation’s largest producer of natural gas, EQT.
About NMSDC
The NMSDC advances business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises (MBEs) and connects them to corporate members. One of the country’s leading corporate membership organizations, NMSDC was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes. The NMSDC network includes a National Office in New York and 23 affiliate regional councils across the country. The network also includes five international partner organizations located in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and South Africa.
To meet the growing need for supplier diversity, NMSDC matches its more than 12,000 certified minority-owned businesses to our network of more than 1,750 corporate members who wish to purchase their products, services and solutions. NMSDC, a unique and specialized player in the field of minority business enterprise, is proud of its unwavering commitment to advance Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American suppliers in a globalized corporate supply chain. For more information, visit www.NMSDC.org.
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