GETTING THE MOST OF YOUR WBENC CERTIFICATION______ Back To Main Page


Our First Annual Conference & Business Expo - A Big Success!

by Nancy Allen, President

Our first annual conference and business expo was a success! The event was hosted by Office Depot and brought together WBEs, corporate representatives and exhibitors. Our luncheon speaker, Julia Rhodes of KleenSlate was dynamic and inspirational. The exhibit hall included 30 exhibitors, a bookstore, a health expo for health and wellness counseling, as well as a silent auction. We had seven workshops for both corporate representatives and WBEs that were interactive and informational.

Shari Francis, Office Depot Manager, Supplier Diversity, deserves a special commendation and recognition as the Chair of the event. Thanks to her leadership, hard work and vision, the event was a resounding success!

We owe a special debt of gratitude to our corporate and WBE sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor, Office Depot

Gold Sponsor, Broward Health

Silver Sponsor, Memorial Healthcare System

Bronze Sponsors, Jackson Health, MedAssets, Scripps Florida, and UPS

Diamond Sponsors, AccuBANKER, Doubletake Stuios, and Welcome Florida

Emerald Sponsors, Alliance Rubber, Smead, and Stride

Ruby Sponsors, AirQuest Environmental, Amazon Printers, Mercedes Electric, The Fischer Group,

and Zoya, Inc.

Our exhibitors:

Our workshop presenters:

CUBE, Dana Hightower, Memorial Healthcare System

Detecting Corporate Supplier Diversity Fraud, Alison K. Jimenez, Dynamics Securities Analytics

WBE Panel, Mercedes LaPorta, Lynn Griffith, Terri Hall

Business Case for Supplier Diversity, Heather Herndon-Wright, WBENC

Doing Business with Office Depot, Jack Greene and Anne Marie Richards

FPL Disaster & Hurricane Preparedness, Julie Holmes & Hector Maestri

Marketing Your WBENC Certification, Kate Armstrong