On Friday, the Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC) recognized several executives, companies, and leaders in the field of minority supplier development. The MSDC presented the awards at its annual Business Conference & Opportunity Fair on March 12, and at its Awards Dinner & Silent Auction on March 13. More than 300 business leaders representing more than 60 companies attended the two events.
The MSDC honored the following advocates for supplier diversity:
• Frank Lemos, president of LDC, Inc. civil engineering group, won the John A. Gilmore Award for being a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) advocate for fellow MBEs. Lemos currently serves on the MSDC’s Minority Business Enterprise Input Committee.
• Diane Lin, director of global sourcing at Starbucks Corporation, won the Robert L. Ryan Award for being a corporate employee who creates business opportunities and advances the development of MBEs. Lin has won several awards in diversity and is the Chair of the MSDC’s Board.
• Alexis Oliver, director of the Washington State Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises, won the Champion Award for being a public employee who creates business opportunities and advances the development of MBEs.
The MSDC honored the following suppliers and leaders in supplier diversity for their overall performance in 2014:
• El Mundo Communications, Inc., Class I Supplier of the Year (annual sales of up to $1M).
• ELYON International, Inc., Class II Supplier of the Year (annual sales of $1M-$10M).
• Dynamic Language, Class III Supplier of the Year (annual sales of $10M-$50M).
• Zones, Inc., Class IV Supplier of the Year (annual sales of more than $50M).
• University of Washington, Public Agency of the Year.
• AT&T, Regional Corporation of the Year.
• Microsoft, National Corporation of the Year.
The evening’s program included a silent auction that benefited the Northwest Mountain MSDC’s Scholarship Fund, which provides funding for MBEs to participate in educational programs and MSDC training opportunities. The auction netted $13,000 last year.
Fernando Martinez, MSDC president and CEO, said of the event, “This evening’s event is the epitome of creating value through supplier diversity. It is the epitome of our region’s successes last year. I truly enjoy the passion that everyone in the room brings to this event as we recognize our regional leaders.”
For more than 37 years, the Northwest Mountain MSDC has been linking major corporations and public agencies to minority-owned businesses, a multi-billion dollar sector representing and impacting today’s global economy. The MSDC serves the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Washington. For more information, visit www.nwmtnmsdc.org.
