AUSTIN AREA BLACK
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION, INC.
Spotlights
Carol Hadnot, ABCA Program Manager/Consultant, Jan Lawson, Direcotr of Business Development
& Contract Compliance and Colette Holt, Attorney at Laws
Jerry Walker, President of the American Contract Compliance Association (ACCA) honored two Austinites with awards for their outstanding services to the organization and the minority and women business community. The 2011 ACCA National Training Institute (NTI) and the 25th Year Celebration was held in Bloomington, Minnesota the week of August 16th-21st.
Jan Lawson, Director of Business Development and Contract Compliance with the City of Austin, Austin Energy Department was the recipient of the Parren J. Mitchell's Crusader Award for her extraordinary courage, dedication, initiative and perseverance in supporting ACCA as a member of the Board of Directors and for demonstrating a keen commitment to increase the utilization of minority and women contractors in City of Austin non traditional procurement and contracting opportunities. A little history about Parren J. Mitchell...He was the first black elected to Congress from Maryland who led the Congressional Black Caucus to spearhead programs aiding minority-owned business as the second phase of the civil rights movement. He was the first black to head the House Small Business Committee, whose historic constituency was mostly white and conservative small-business owners. In 1976, he attached an amendment to a public works bill stipulating that cities and states receiving federal grants had to award 10 percent of the money to minority-owned businesses. That year, he sponsored a bill requiring contractors to document their goals in contracting with minority-owned companies. Both measures became law.
Carol Hadnot, Program Manager/Consultant for the Austin Area Black Contractors Association and the Principal of Business Resource Consultants was the recipient of the 2011 Regional Coordinator Award for her work on the design of ACCA’s new website, newsletter publications and brochure, as well as, providing one of the most popular training session that have been showcased at the NTI over the past eight years. Ms. Hadnot and Ms. Lawson throughout their twenty years of association with ACCA have introduced NTI attendees to City of Austin sustainable initiatives and best practices such as the “Contractor’s Tool Box” and the “Contractor Development Assistance Services Program”. These training sessions have been successfully replicated by other public and private sector entities throughout the United States, i.e...the M/W/ESB programs in Portland, Oregon; and cities of Fort Worth, Texas, San Francisco, California, Durham, North Carolina; Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau; Shreveport, Louisiana; and the State of Wisconsin. Kudos to Jan and Carol for a job well done as the recipients of recognition that is long over due.
Additionally, Congratulations go out to Austinites who are recipients of the 2011 ACCA National Training Institute’s CCA and MCA Certifications… Debra Dibble, Assistant Director, City of Austin Small and Minority Business Resources Department (SMBR), received the Certified Compliance Administrator certification (CCA) and earned 42 hours of continuing education credits; and Sandra Green, Administrative Specialist, Austin Energy received Master Certified Compliance Administrator (MCA) certification and earned 84 hours of continuing education credits. Other attendees from Austin working on their CCAs included: Alayne Johnson, General Manager, All Points Inspection Services, Inc. and President of the ABCA; Terry Franz, Contract Compliance Specialist, City of Austin ERGO; and Margo Harris, Business Development Counselor Associate, City of Austin SMBR. Linda Moore, Business Development Counselor, City of Austin SMBR; Muriel Kruse, HUB Associate, University of Texas at Austin; and Carol Hadnot, Principal of Business Resource Consultants all who have received their MCAs attended the 10 hour CEU Think Tank on Strategic Planning.
Ms. Hadnot also served as a training instructor focusing on “How to Develop an Effective MBE/WBE/DBE/HUB Outreach Program”. Ms. Lawson served as moderator of this session by sharing how the program’s standardized processes and methodologies facilitated Austin Energy’s outreach recruitment of MBE/WBEs for their Weatherization Residential Program. Other presenters included: Dr. Clarence J. Bibby, PhD, Director of Corporate Improvements Services, Austin Energy, served as a training instructor focusing on the “Psychological Framework for Contract Compliance Practitioners”. Dr. Jon Wainwright, Ph.D, Vice President and Economist of the National Economic Research Associates, Inc.(NERA), and Colette Holt, ACCA General Counsel and outside Counsel for the City of Austin SMBR served as training instructors focusing on “ Designing Defensible Disparity and Availability Studies”.
The NTI was a success with over 300 practitioners attending from across the United States. A big thank you to our Austin sponsors and supporters who help to make this possible:
• Anthony and Tracie Snipes
• Andrews Kurth, LLP Attorneys
• Austin Area Black Contractors Association
• City of Austin, Austin Energy Department
• National Economic Research Associates, Inc.
