Women's Business Development Center-Minnesota Seventh Annual Celebration of Success & 10th Anniversary Held on March 5

MINNEAPOLIS, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Women's Business Development Center –Minnesota (WBDC-MN) honored the achievements and success of local women entrepreneurs and supporters of women's economic development at its Seventh Annual Celebration of Success & 10^th Anniversary on March 5 at the University of Minnesota's McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis. 

Sponsored by the organization's founding partners, BMO Harris Bank, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. and Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP, as well as a number of women-owned companies and corporate partners, the event was attended by over 200 women entrepreneurs, corporate supplier diversity representatives and local community partners.

This year's honorees are:

• WBE of the Year Award to Lynne Alexander, chairman and CEO, The Bureau of Engraving, Inc., for her company's success in leveraging its WBE status to secure business, and for outstanding contributions to the community and WBDC-MN.
• Corporate Partner of the Year Award to Best Buy, for its outstanding commitment to supplier diversity and the utilization of women-owned businesses in its supply chain. Best Buy's supplier diversity senior manager Molly Larsen, who accepted on behalf of the corporation, has produced exemplary results in diverse supplier development by increasing procurement opportunities and fostering mentorships.
• Giving Back Award to Kelly Wold Smith, owner/president, Futura Marketing Inc., for extraordinary contributions to the success of the WBDC-MN, its certified WBEs and the women's business community.
• Advocacy Award to Lisa Holter, shareholder, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., for strong commitment to women's economic development and long-standing, generous support of the WBDC-MN.

Since its launch in 2003 by the Women's Business Development Center in Chicago (WBDC-Chicago), the WBDC-MN has undergone tremendous growth.  The WBDC-MN provides a national certification for WBEs, through its partnership with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), and facilitates networking and business development opportunities for women-owned businesses locally.  The WBDC-MN has created a powerful network of nearly 350 WBEs, with combined revenues of over $3.2 billion dollars, which is finding success by targeting Fortune 500 corporations as clients, as well as doing business with each other.  For more information on the WBDC-MN, please visit www.WBDC.org/mn or call 612-259-6584. 

SOURCE Women's Business Development Center