Tuesday March 08, 2022 | Edition 49
WBE SUCCESS STORIES
Celebrating the achievements of the women that make up our RPO. Congratulations ladies, keep up the amazing work!
Vanessa N. Pennoyer, Owner & President of Go 2 Girl LLC, was recently nominated for Today's Woman Magazine's Most Admired category in Equity for the work that she does at Go 2 Girl LLC. You can vote for Vanessa and learn more about this honor here
Scalability is the Key to Bickley Innovations’ Sustainable Growth
Kendra Alexander, founder & CEO of Bickley Innovations', graduates from MGM Resort International's Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program
 Small businesses that want to become a medium sized enterprise or even a Fortune 500 company get there through great mentorship and incorporating scale up into their business plan.

Bickley Innovations’ founder and CEO, Kendra Alexander has just positioned her company for sustainable growth by doing exactly that. She graduated from MGM Resort International's Supplier Diversity Mentorship Program in 2022. MGM Resort's annual program for emerging diverse suppliers combines a mentor program with six months of intense business development training. Kendra was able to find and close gaps in the 6 Pillars of business: health/safety, quality, cyber security, corporate policy, finance and technical capability. The curriculum enabled the creation of a policy handbook, crucial SOPs, and plans for specific functional areas. But I saw an opportunity to do more than just capture the current state of my business. I envisioned the future state of my business and wrote these documents so they can expand as my business grows. I added triggers that are tied to our metrics that adjust the core documents relative to the company’s scale,” said Kendra as she explained what she calls intentional scalability.

Great mentorship was the other ingredient in the secret sauce for nurturing Bickley Innovations. MGM honored Kendra's request for a mentor with experience in finance because she wanted a resource familiar with corporate finance. Kendra’s mentor, Yanina de Vargas, is the Executive Director of Finance Operations at MGM Northfield Park. Yanina’s vast knowledge of corporate finance has helped Kendra see the glide path between small business and corporate finance.  
Kendra recommends that as WBEs take time to work on their business that they consider the value a great mentor can bring. And she says, “remember to keep the future state of your business in mind so you can be intentional about your scale up.”

Corporate Member Updates
The University of Dayton was recently listed as a winner of the INSIGHT into Diversity's Jesse L. Moore Supplier Diversity Award for higher education. This is a huge accomplishment that honors institutions that have taken steps in supporting and engaging with minority-owned businesses through supplier diversity offices, dedicated procurement officers and programs, and innovative events and initiatives.
The University of Kentucky Received the INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine’s Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award. UK was selected because of their dedication to growing expenditures in all categories of diverse supplier, with the primary goal of positively impacting the university and beyond. Some of that activity includes: Hiring a full-time Supplier Diversity Manager, The Turner-UK Construction Diversity Accelerator Program, Commerce Lexington and Black Faith Leaders Collaborative, Meet the Primes, and Memorandum of Agreement with the Kentucky Procurement Technical Assistance Center (KYPTAC).
Louisville Water Company Small Business Opportunities
Louisville Water wants to give small businesses a greater opportunity to work with them. As they deliver water to their customers every day, they create jobs for hundreds of large and small businesses. They are looking for suppliers and contractors who can deliver great quality work. If you are a small business, they want to work with you.
 
They encourage small businesses to apply to be a qualified Louisville Water Small Business Equity (SBE) program member. Only Louisville Water SBE program members can bid on certain Louisville Water projects, and Louisville Water will determine what those projects are. Their SBE program generally includes bidding on construction, construction sub-contracting, professional services, or general services contracts for more than $30,000 but less than $250,000. They are offering workshops on the requirements and the application process. Please sign up for a workshop by clicking here.

Visit LouisvilleWater.com/procurement-sbe for benefits of the program, how to apply, FAQs, and information on training sessions.
Save the Date: 2022 Catch the Wave Conference
Griffin Gate Marriot Golf Resort & Spa Lexington, KY
August 29 - 31 2022
Mark your calendars for the 13th annual Women's Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley (WBEC ORV) Catch the Wave Conference, where we will be back together in person!

Registration for the event will open on Monday, April 4, 2022. We look forward to having you with us in person!

You will leave this conference with inspiration and new tools that will make a difference in your personal and business growth. We look forward to seeing you for an exciting 2022 Catch the Wave Conference!

The Catch the Wave Regional Conference brings female entrepreneurs together to network, learn, and gain inspiration from each other. The conference provides networking, training, and access to both women business owners and corporate members from across our region of Ohio, Kentucky & West Virginia.
Catch the Wave Golf Tournament
We're excited to announce that we will be having our first ever Catch the Wave Golf outing this year on Monday, August 29th! We have several sponsorship options available, please take a moment to review all levels and reach out to Robert Moore at rmoore1@wbec-orv.org with any questions.

If you're not a golfer, that's okay, we have other options for you to take part in as well! We will also be offering a spa day and a bourbon tour at the same time as the Golf Tournament. Be on the lookout for more information on how to sign up for these alternative options.
Opportunities to Sponsor

If you are a Certified WBE interested in supporting the conference, please take a look at our Sponsorship Package and contact Kathryn Macon at kmacon@wbec-orv.org with any questions you might have.

If you are a Corporate Member interested in supporting the conference, please take a look at our Sponsorship Package and contact Ashton Wilson at awilson@wbec-orv.org with any questions you might have.
Bid Opportunities
Active Solicitations
Please visit this website to check all available solicitations and preview the bid without logging in. Remember, you must register to download the bid documents. Registration is free: click this link to register.

If you have difficulty registering, please send your email to procurement@cintimha.com  with your username, email address, first name, last name, organization, and phone number. A confirmation of your registration will be sent to you confirming receipt of your registration.

All responses must be received on or before the date and time indicated on the bid opportunity and sent by email to procurement@cintimha.com.
CVG's invitations to Bid (ITB) may be downloaded from the website under Current Opportunities.

Invitation to Bid and Request for Proposal opportunities are currently available with the KCTCS.

In order to be considered in the Procurement to Payment Department, please submit a sealed bid or proposal by the due date supplied. Please submit via the link below:

The University of Kentucky has released the following Requests for Proposal:

The advertisements for all bids, RFPs, and more can be found here.
RFPs from Fayette County Public Schools are available and can be downloaded by registering here www.fcps.net/bids.  

Invitation to Bid and Request for Proposal opportunities are currently available with Louisville MSD:


The City of Columbus invites you to explore their vendor services opportunities. All open bids can be found on their website under open requests for quotations.

Meet & Confer
The City of Cincinnati - Department of Community & Economic Development’s Meet and Confer will be hosted by Graphite Oakley, LLC (an affiliate of Hills Developers, Inc.) on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 2:00PM, REMOTELY, through Microsoft Teams.
 
Under the City’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols, developers will be hosting and conducting individual project meetings remotely. You will be able to join the meetings from the comfort of your homes or office through a computer/laptop or mobile phone. See below for instructions to enter the online meeting.
Meeting Location: Microsoft Teams
Meeting Time: March 16, 2022 at 2:00PM
Conference Name: Meet & Confer – Graphite Oakley
Meeting ID: 112159364#
Dial-in #: 513-618-7680

The City of Cincinnati - Department of Community & Economic Development’s Meet and Confer will be hosted by HGC Construction on Monday, March 21, 2022 at 10:00AM, REMOTELY, through Microsoft Teams.
 
Under the City’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols, developers will be hosting and conducting individual project meetings remotely. You will be able to join the meetings from the comfort of your homes or office through a computer/laptop or mobile phone. See below for instructions to enter the online meeting.
Meeting Location: Microsoft Teams
Meeting Time: March 21, 2022 at 10:00AM
Conference Name: Meet & Confer – 550 E 4th Street

The City of Hillview
The City of Hillview is soliciting sealed bids for the electrical, plumbing and sprinkler system needed at Hillview Annex Building project in Hillview Kentucky.

Corporate Member Spotlight
This month, we are shining light on our Corporate Member, OhioHealth. OhioHealth has served the central Ohio area since 1891. As an organization with a strong and vibrant culture, OhioHealth associates work together to bring their core values of integrity, compassion, excellence and stewardship to life.
Staying true to their mission, they strongly believe in working with minority-owned businesses and have been a WBEC ORV Corporate Member since 2017. We are grateful for their support over the years and look forward to expanding on this relationship this year. Lynnise Smith, Supplier Diversity Manager, Strategic Sourcing shares the success that OhioHealth has achieved since partnering with us as well as their goals for this year and beyond.
Lynnise Smith, Supplier Diversity Manager, Strategic Sourcing at OhioHealth
" As an individual contributor, it is great to have the ability to call on the ORV Team and network for assistance with identifying trusted suppliers, get industry insight and share leading practices. Although the benefits to working with WBEC ORV are limitless; the relationship is only as good as the effort that you invest into it.  

In 2020 the OhioHealth Sourcing Team and Supplier Diversity Champions incorporated discussions about Supplier Diversity into their quarterly reviews with current suppliers and briefings with perspective suppliers. As a result the team identified multiple suppliers that were eligible for certification. To support this process ORV agreed to have a conversation with suppliers that were interested in WBEC Certification. If they were located in ORV Territory (Kentucky, Ohio or West Virginia) they were presented with resources on how to engage with ORV. If they were out of the ORV service area then the team would provide a warm handoff to the RPO in their location. 
 
One OhioHealth success story was Church Products, Inc.. Church Products was previously certified by WBEC West. Their WBE Certification expired in October 2015. I spoke with Judi about the goals of OhioHealth’s Supplier Diversity program and our “Why” for having a program. In that conversation I also shared why it was important to OhioHealth that eligible suppliers maintain their certifications. After having a conversation, Judi Church took immediate action and was recertified in May 2021. 
 
Since engaging with Supplier Diversity and recertifying, Judi’s business has increased not only with OhioHealth but with other Hospital Systems across the United States.
 

In 2022 I look forward to accomplishing two things #1, supporting WBEC ORV’s efforts to be the Number 1 ORV. And, #2, increasing OhioHealth’s participation in WBEC ORV. I would like to see more emerging leaders at OhioHealth serve on committees and increase OhioHealth attendance at signature events. "
WBENC Forum's Corner
Welcome to the WBENC Forum's corner! This serves as an opportunity for you to get to meet our forum representatives and hear more about their story. This month, we will hear from representative Tara Abraham.
Hi Everyone! My name is Tara Abraham and I'm the owner and CEO of Accel Inc which is a Contract Manufacturing bringing products to market flawlessly for the World’s Leading Brands. I also own Spa-Da which is a Personal Care Contract Manufacturing business creating private label exquisite quality affordable luxuries for Private Label and the Spa-da Brand

I have been certified since 1999 and have been on the leadership team for about 15 years now. In the past, I have had the pleasure of serving as Chair Emeritus of the Forum, Forum Chair, Forum Vice Chair, and Forum Representative.

I have received many benefits from being on the leadership team such as the connections between myself and other WBE’s, access to the Corporates Executives, ongoing Networking and Continuing Education, Mentoring other new WBE’s or aspiring student women Entrepreneur
Access to Regional, and National events.

Participation in the network is so important because you always receive tenfold what your effort you apply to anything you do- there are so many resources, opportunities, and building lifelong friendships however it goes both ways and is important to be cognizant that it is imperative to give your time, talent, and treasures.
 
Show up and support!

As my giveback to the RPO I think my value is the years of experience and knowledge due to my commitment to WBENC and I have been part of whole organization overall. I believe I have a vast network of SD Executives, other WBE’s, RPO’s and the National HQ that would be helpful to others- and happy to share!

When I was head of the National Forum I would always state “If we just did business with each other that would be over 14,000 contracts annually, can you image how that would help our economy and support each other!
 
I am constantly sourcing and researching to do business with other WBE’s and do as such - we walk the walk and walk the talk!
 
We use many minorities and women owned business suppliers, too many to name which I am proud of!
 
There are a few items I am very proud of:
 
Applause Award
The Trailblazer Award
NWBC Appointment to The President of the United States, Congress and SBA
Women of Distinction
Chair of the Forum
Vice Chair of the ORVWBC Steering Committee
Co-Chairs of the NCBF – 3 times -This year 2022

My involvement in WBENC has been transformative for myself and my businesses and I can't wait to see what the future holds. I'm proud to be on the forum and am happy to help anyone who has questions or just wants to connect - after all, it's what sisterhood is all about!
WBENC Forum Representatives
The Women's Enterprise Forum (The Forum) serves in an advisory capacity to the WBENC Board of Directors. The Forum gives input and feedback on WBENC programs and other matters at the direction of the Board. Participation in The Forum offers opportunities for WBENC-certified WBEs to represent all women's business enterprises' voices and engage in networking and development activities with other WBEs, member corporations, and government entities.

WBEC ORV Forum Reps are here to represent you! Feel free to contact them for input, suggestions, and feedback regarding WBENC, WBEC ORV, and other matters relevant to the WBE community.
All WBEC ORV Forum Representatives are listed below: 
COVID 19 - Resources Corner
Our RPO has multiple WBEs that provide COVID-19 related supplies and services. We encourage you to support and share opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
 
Please check out the COVID-19 Resource page on our website to access a list of companies providing COVID-19 suppliers. in this arena. We encourage you to review the list, and if applicable, send your business name and contact information so we can update your information.
 
The WBEC ORV Team is working to identify various support platforms such as webinars and partner resources that can assist you during this difficult time.
About WBEC ORV
The Women's Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley (WBEC ORV) mission is leading through an innovative, collaborative, and engaged group of Corporates, Government, WBEs, and Advocates. We are a catalyst for growth and sustainability by adding more Corporate Partners & WBEs in the Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia region.

WBEC ORV is a regional partner organization of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and provides certification to women-owned businesses in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. WBEC ORV operates under the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati's Business Development and Entrepreneurship through a collaborative effort with WBENC. Click the link below for more information.
WBEC ORV is operated by the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio Business Development and Entrepreneurship Department under the authority of WBENC. The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio.