HARTFORD, Conn. – About 75 people attended the Metropolitan District Commission’s (MDC) 3rd Annual Vendors and Suppliers fair for Minority Business Enterprises and Women’s Business Enterprises on June 28 at the MDC Training Center.

The event’s purpose was to advise Minority Business Enterprises and Women Business Enterprises on how to do business with the MDC. In 2001, this partnership resulted in $3.4 million in business placed with these suppliers and vendors.

Albert F. Reichin, District Chairman said, “I pledge to you to continue to work to strengthen our program; to make it a model for the public sector.”

Among the highlights of the event were the success stories of minority-owned businesses:

• Larry Morgan of R&L Morgan Enterprises (janitorial services);
• David Beam, Beam & Associates (executive search firm);
• Gilbert C. Morrell, Jr., The Nucon Group (staffing and engineering services); and
• George T. Payne, S.U.D.S. Design Group (creative consultant).

Each described how his firm started doing business with the MDC and encouraged other vendors to pursue similar opportunities.

James Michel, MDC Manager of Financial Control, described the details of the MDC purchasing process. Attorneys Susan Hays and Craig Perra from Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, PC discussed the requirements for preparing a successful bid for an MDC contract.

Other speakers included Peter F. Hurst, Jr., president of The Community’s Bank; Meg Yetshefsky of the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services; Shari L. Pratt of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and Dr. Fred McKinney, director of the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council.

Vendors and suppliers interested in attending next year’s fair or in being placed on the MDC vendor list may contact David James or Monnece Ritter of the MDC’s Purchasing Department at 860-278-7850 ext. 3338 or 3341.

The Metropolitan District (MDC) is a non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1929 to provide potable water and sewerage services on a regional basis. Today, the MDC provides quality water supply, water pollution control, Geographic Information System (GIS) services, and household hazardous waste collection services to eight member municipalities – Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor – and to portions of other towns in the region.

The MDC, under contract to the Connecticut Resources Recovery, also handles waste transportation and processing operations associated with the Mid-Connecticut Project. The MDC operates hydroelectric facilities at the Goodwin Dam in Hartland and at the Colebrook Dam in Colebrook. The MDC’s web site www.themdc.com. The MDC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

# # #