New York & New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council Launches "Mission Accomplished" Saluting Top Minority Business Owners

NEW YORK, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New York & New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council has initiated a special Mission Accomplished program to salute its certified minority business owners that secured major corporate contracts and purchase orders during 2009-2010.

At The Council's Business Opportunity Expo 2010 in June, Mission Accomplished honored 11 African American, Asian and Hispanic New York and New Jersey business owners in fields encompassing advertising, building maintenance, energy, manufacturing, IT staffing, technology, printing and packaging. In total, the Mission Accomplished businesses accrued over $45 million in contracts and purchase orders.

"I am confident in the ability of minority owned businesses to survive, even in difficult economic situations.  The drive, ability and desire, demonstrated by our first Mission Accomplished certified suppliers underscores that confidence," stated Lynda Ireland, president & CEO, The Council. "These firms are the tip of the iceberg of successful minority businesses."

The Mission Accomplished honorees are: Mahendra Patel, Patel Consultants Corp; Howard Buford, Prime Access; Karen J. Martinez, Bravo Group Services, LLC; John Hardy, Del-Med, Inc.; Gene Waddy, Diversant; Cedric Glasper, Mechanical Rubber Products; Avis Yates, Technology Concepts Group International LLC; Lou Cortez, The Standard Group; Robert Sanchez, United Print Group; Firoz Lalji, Zones Inc. and David Hernandez, Liberty Power Corporation.

"New York Life is proud to nominate Liberty Power. At New York Life including non-traditional areas in the supplier diversity process has been an important focus," said Annette Ficucello, assistant vice president, supplier diversity at New York Life. "As a result, Liberty Power was invited to participate in the bidding process for our electricity supplier contract almost seven years ago and they won. They continue to be a valued supplier to New York Life."

In addition to New York Life, Mission Accomplished corporate members include: Adecco USA, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Bank of America, TIAA CREF, General Electric Company, Northrop Grumman, Pfizer, Freddie Mac, University of Medicine & Dentistry, MetLife Insurance, Capital One, Home Depot, Microsoft and PepsiCo.

The Council's certification has been an asset in generating opportunities.  "Beyond that you have to be the answer to inquiring companies' business needs, and we've been fortunate to win several large accounts on the strength of our proposals," said Mahendra Patel, president & CEO, Patel Consultants.

To Pauline Gebon, vice president, supplier development at Adecco USA, "a successful corporate supplier is one that adheres to contract terms and conditions, over delivers on service, plays by the rules, has the infrastructure in place to support the business and is financially sound."

The Council, an award-winning affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, has over 200 corporate members, including Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies and educational institutions. Currently, there are approximately 1,300 New York and New Jersey minority-owned businesses with annual revenues from $100,000 to $3 billion that are certified by The Council. For more information contact The Council at 212-502-5663 or www.nynjmsdc.org.

SOURCE New York & New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc.