NAMC Elects New President, Francis Onwualu

Fellow Members of the NAMC, Greetings:

The NAMC has reached another milestone in its history and it is my distinguished pleasure to take on its responsibilities as your new president. Looking to the future, we have to focus on our past. NAMC was formed to help our individual members gain additional opportunities for more work. More work creates growth and a better future for each member. Given these hard economic times, the relevance of our organization remains rooted in working to help each member.

"Let's open doors together™"

As the new president of NAMC, I will dedicate myself to helping our membership open doors for new opportunities. These opportunities could be working with more government projects, more sub-contracting with the major contractors, more jobs working directly with large corporations that support the diversity agenda as well as discovering new opportunities by working better together.

My Profile

I am the Owner and president of Grand Development and Grand Building Supply LLC. I obtained a BA Degree in Economics in 1981 and an MBA in 1984. I have over twenty-five years of management and financial experience. I have also served as Vice President and President, respectively, of the NAMC Upper Midwest Chapter for five years. Until my recent election as President, I served on the National Board as the Sergeant at arms.

My Vision
· Enhance and expand NAMC's education and training programs
· Leverage our existing relationships with MCPs, MCOs, AGCs, ABC and our MOU partners
· Cultivate new partnerships and relationships
· Establish a Legislative Advocacy group in WashingtonD.C.
· Encourage strong Chapter development
· Enhance the NAMC Brand
· Create and develop committees to establish international opportunities for our members

Thank you for your vote of confidence and trust that I will work to open as many doors for each member as possible. I am sending a package to everyone within the next few weeks. Please read it and feel free to send me your feedback in the reply envelope, via e-mail at francis@grandbuildingsupplyllc.com, or you may call my office at 1-800-488-1188. Remember, I represent your voice so take the time to communicate with me.

Let's have a great year working together!

Francis Onwualu,

President NAMC

September Board Meeting Announcement

Dear Members,

Our next Board of Directors Meeting will be in Washington, D.C. starting September 23, 2009 through September 25, 2009.

Please make your hotel accommodations as quickly as possible. This year, we have arranged to stay at The Liaison Hotel. Please follow the procedures listed below for booking your stay at the hotel...

Hotel Booking Instructions:

The Hotel understands that reservations will be handled through individual calls or will be e-mailed directly to our Reservations Department at 1-866-AFFINIA (866-233-4642) or to reservations@affinia.com respectively. Please be sure that guests/attendees identify themselves as part of the NAMC National Association of Minority Contractors group to guarantee the special group rate. The Cut-Off Date for accepting reservations is Monday, August 24th, 2009. Any reservations received after this date, are subject to space and rate availability.

Thank you for promptly booking your reservation and do not hesitate to contact your National Office for any special assistance. Sincerely,

Ty Hart
National Association of Minority Contractors
(202) 204-3093

Speakers Bureau Formation

Our community outreach throughout the United States would benefit from a centralized list of approved members that would be able to speak on behalf of NAMC. An approved member might be asked to speak at a community event, civic group luncheon, seminar or even to selected media.

If you feel that you might be able to contribute to this new initiative, send a copy of your resume and a picture to hartnamc@verizon.net. Contact Ty Hart for more information about this program.

Leadership Spotlight

The members of the National Board of Directors donate a significant amount of their time in order to help NAMC succeed. Over the coming months, the NAMC Toolbox will showcase one member in each issue in order to recognize their contribution to the organization. Our National Board of Directors is fortunate to include some of the most successful minority business leaders in the nation and we want our readership to learn more about the high caliber of leadership working to move the organization forward. In the next two issues, we will spotlight, Felicia Miller-Watson of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP and Kathy Meyers of Meyer Contracting.

Corporate Partners Recognition

NAMC Corporate Partners provide the key ingredient towards the construction of the future of NAMC. Aside from financial support, our corporate partners provide guidance and help direct members to contracts. You can never have too many corporate partners and you can never say “thank you” too often to a corporate partner. In subsequent issues we will showcase one or two corporate partners in an effort to demonstrate NAMC’s appreciation for their loyal support. If you have a specific corporate partner that you would like to showcase soon, contact Gene Gutierrez at gene@graphicumbrella.com or call him at (305) 373-1919.

VIVA Las Vegas June 17-20

The spirit of Elvis lives and all of us will be able to “rock and roll” this summer at our
40th Annual National Conference June 17-20, 2009, at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme of the conference is:

“Committed to the Legacy…” …our Legacy: Forty years of empowering the community of minority contractors by providing education, advocating change, reforming procurement, eliminating barriers, building bridges, sharing best practices and supporting one another. …our Commitment: To continue our Legacy into the future by providing the necessary training, support, and advocacy to ensure our members benefit in the new Green economy, thereby providing a clean, sustainable and prosperous world for our Children and our Children’s Children.

For detail information visit http://www.namcnational.org/ to sign-up and download other materials.

40th Mid-Winter Retreat, February 18-20

Mark your calendar for the 40th Mid-Winter Retreat from February 18-20 at the Crown Plaza West Palm Beach Hotel. A special big "Thank you" to Kelvin Crokett, Executive Director of our new South Florida Chapter, for working around the clock to ensure that we all have one of our best retreats. In addition, another "Thank you" to Arthur Queen, NAMC Atlanta Chapter, for providing his experience and support to the South Florida team.

For more information, contact Kelvin at 1.561.889.1341 or e-mail him at kelvin@namcsfc.org.