What's Happening in Merrick, NY…

The inaugural workshops for Minority Women Business Enterprises Certification, which have been held at the Baldwin Library just a few miles from Merrick, were completed on August 9th by the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Flyer printing was most likely used to announce the series and generate enthusiasm for the workshops. According to the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Inc., Phil Andrews, these workshops are designed to help minority women business enterprises to get certified and prepare owners of small businesses to be able to bid on local, county, and state level contracts in the area.

Charlene Jackson Thompson, of the firm Thompson Economic Development Services based in Baldwin, was the instructor for the workshops. She commented that the goal of the training was to give business owners the skills they need so they are able to compete well in government contracting opportunities on both the local and national levels. In turn, these businesses can not only keep their operation going but create jobs and add more employees to their businesses.

Sharon Davis, president and CEO of SJ Edwards, Inc., a firm based in Freeport that provides employee benefit services, added that getting certified is a cumbersome process but it is necessary to be certified in order to bid on government contracts.