It’s been a long hot summer but also a very productive one here at the Council. It was great to see so many of you at the July TOP TEN Networking meeting where we saw record attendance. The participants not only benefited from the excellent networking opportunity, but also received some timely tips from Mina Brown of Transition Resources who spoke with us about surviving and even thriving in the current economic downturn. Her insights were very helpful and provided many examples of steps each business could implement immediately. Thank you again to Mina and to the sponsors of the meeting, IBM and Sunbelt Telecommunications.

I also want to thank each of our WBE members who responded to our online Member Satisfaction Survey. We had a great response rate and heard your essential feedback. We are in the process of compiling the survey results and will utilize your input to formulate the goals, objectives, and programs for the remainder of this year and next. Plan on attending the WBCS Annual Meeting on November 13, 2001 where we will present the survey results and have round table discussions on each of the Council’s programs.

As you know, the Council is all about increasing procurement between Sustaining and WBE members. Beyond WBE certification, and access to corporate supplier diversity programs, there are many ways that WBCS addresses this mission. Mentoring and business development education can strengthen a business in numerous ways so that your infrastructure, responsiveness, and capacity are adequate to respond to the demands of large corporate contracts. In the current economic environment, corporations are focused more than ever on the bottom line. In order to be considered as a supplier, WBEs must provide quality, superior products and services, and do so at highly competitive pricing.

That’s why the Council offers a wide variety of education and mentoring programs. In recent months, our education programs have included the B2B Survival Training Workshop and the Table Topics luncheon series that addressed business ethics, and what corporations look for in your website. We also kicked off our second Mentoring Program with 18 corporate and WBE matches. Harvesting Partnerships is right around the corner with several new surprises including our first-ever educational trade fair where participants can talk one-on-one with experts in all aspects of managing your business. Also, back by popular demand, we will offer David Shepherd’s “8 Steps Workshop” in early November.

I urge you to take advantage of these programs that are provided to members at incredibly affordable prices. We are committed to keeping our registration costs low as a benefit of membership. Be fully prepared when the next business opportunity presents itself.

See you in a few weeks at Harvesting Partnerships!