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Last month ATR was proud to be the MBE presenting sponsor for the Grand Canyon Minority Supplier Development Council Awards Luncheon and Business Exchange held in Tempe, AZ. This is the second year that we’ve been sponsoring the luncheon. The event is held each year to honor and award exemplary performance by minority businesses and the organizations that support them.

The event was cohosted by Scott Gregory, President/CEO of GCMSDC and Chet Yancy, Board Chair of GCMSDC, and Manager of the Small Business & Diversity Program at Arizona State University. This year’s focus was on celebrating achievement, diversity and partnership. Steve Sazy, from ATR’s Arizona office, kicked off the event by sharing his thoughts which included the following:

“It is important to note that it is the diverse alliances that we create, that have a great impact to the success we will have in the future. Through the GCMSDC’s diversity programs and support, the close partnership with other MBE’s, and the mentorship from corporations that help elevate our competitiveness to be successful in this very competitive world, the MBE community will continue to grow and succeed in this very competitive business world. We celebrate MBE’s and corporate America working together as teammates, collaborating as successful teams do.”

Following Steve, there was a 2-hour “Business Exchange”, where sponsors and attendees had a chance to network with GCMSDC Certified MBE Exhibitors. This is a great opportunity for both MBEs and corporations to learn more about each other and explore ways to partner and work together. This was followed by the awards luncheon where a total of 8 awards were presented: MBE Supplier of the Year awards in four annual sales-tier categories ranging from less than $1M to greater than $50M, and four additional awards recognizing corporate and community contributions.

It was ATR’s pleasure to present the Corporation of the Year Award to Salt River Project and present the award to Patricia Pyle, Manager of Supplier Diversity, at SRP. SRP delivers electricity and water to communities in Arizona and was recognized for their generous and continuous support and contributions to the Arizona MBE community.

All in all, the event was a huge success! It was nice to connect with colleagues in the Arizona diversity community and it was great to hear testimonials from various people as to how the council and the community helped them. Finally, it is always rewarding to be part of recognizing people and companies that succeed while doing things the right way. Please join me in recognizing and congratulating all the award recipients listed below. We look forward to working with the GCMSDC in the future, and specifically to next year’s luncheon!

• MBE Supplier of the Year – Class I Award: media 88, Inc., Ms. Choo Tay, President
• MBE Supplier of the Year – Class II Award: Speedy Gonzalez Construction, Inc, Salvador Gonzalez, President
• MBE Supplier of the Year – Class III Award: D.P. Electric, Inc., Mr. Dan Puente, President & Founder
• MBE Supplier of the Year – Class IV Award: World Wide Technology, Inc., Mr. David Steward, Chairman of the Board
• Corporate Advocate of the Year Award: Mr. Chet Yancy of Arizona State University
• Corporation of the Year Award: Salt River Project
• MBE Advocate of the Year Award: Ms. Choo Tay, President of media 88, Inc.
• Chairman’s Award: Mr. Robert Esquivel, past GCMSDC Board Chair and formerly in Supplier Diversity at APS