The Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council (SFMSDC), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing access and growth for minority businesses in Florida,?announced last week that it is changing its?name to Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council (FSMSDC) to reflect an expanded service area that now includes Central and Northern Florida.
?The Council is now being served by what was formerly known as the Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council and because now this operator is going to be serving the whole state, we wanted to make sure and the board of directors wanted to make that everyone understood that it was covering the entire state of Florida. Thus, the name change to Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council,? Joset Wright-Lacy, president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, told TNJ Senior Editor Sergie Willoughby.
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She adds, “And because we felt very strongly that we wanted there to be a united approach to serving MBEs and corporate members across the state of Florida, we decided to bring it all together as opposed to the Southern Florida and the Central North Florida divisions. It?s all Florida state.?
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The Council is led by Beatrice Louissaint, whose role as SFMSDC CEO and president has expanded to cover the entire state as CEO and president of the FSMSDC. The organization is set to roll out a variety of new services and programs to its corporate members and MBEs statewide. FSMSDC, an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council Inc. (NMSDC), will be headquartered in Miami with regional offices and staff in Orlando, Tampa and Tallahassee.
?The new name, Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council, communicates that we are now one state, one council, with a mission that extends throughout Florida?to link corporations and government agencies with MBEs in order to foster business development and expansion,? said Beatrice Louissaint,?president & CEO of the FSMSDC. ?We are thrilled to be able to offer broader products and services across the state, which will not only help MBEs become certified, but will also propel their success and connect them to customers that will increase their profitability.?
The organization will expand the services and programs it provides, such as?the Technical Assistance Program (TAP), which offers certified minority businesses with unprecedented access to much-needed technical and professional services in the legal, marketing and finance areas.?MBE’s currently represent $8.8 billion in sales and 75,057 employees throughout Florida.