Page 3 - Florida Senttinel 7-9-19

Feature
Mayor Launches New Vendor Certification Tour
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Mayor Jane Castor is taking steps to make doing business with the city more convenient for local busi- ness owners. For the first time, City staff from the Purchasing Department and the Minority and Small Business Development Of- fice will visit neighbor- hoods to certify and/or register companies with the City of Tampa.
Mayor Castor said, “Bringing city services into the neighborhoods ensures local businesses have ac- cess to the tools they need to build a long term rela- tionship with the City.
“Improving the number of minority, woman- owned, and small busi- nesses that have an opportunity to bid on city projects and guarantees an inclusive, equitable and
MAYOR JANE CASTOR
open process for all busi- nesses to have a chance to thrive locally,” she said.
Known as the “Bridges To Business” Vendor Certification Tour, the event will take place on Saturday, July 13, at Cyrus Greene Community Center, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King,
MS. JANELLE McGREGOR Manager of Community Partnerships
Jr., Blvd., from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Those in attendance will have the opportunity to meet City purchasing rep- resentatives, network with prime contactors, and re- ceive one-on-one vendor certification assistance.
Some of the current contracting opportunities include: new and existing
MS. EBONE CRUZ
construction services, pro- fessional engineering, ar- chitectural services, and goods and services (i.e., lawn maintenance, janitor- ial services, and general supplies and materials).
The goal of the “Bridges To Business” Vendor Certi- fication Tour is to meet en- trepreneurs in the communities where they
serve in an effort to connect them with basic informa- tion that has the potential to lead to government con- tract work.
Ms. Janelle McGre- gor, Manager of Commu- nity Partnerships said, “Ebone (Cruz) and I are excited to announce our first initiative as the new Community Partnership team for the City of Tampa! Mayor Castor is taking steps to make doing business with the city more convenient for local busi- ness owners.”
The Bridges To Busi- ness Vendor Certifica- tion Tour is free and open to business own- ers or their representa- tives. Space for one-on-one certifica- tion consultations is limited. Attendees are strongly encouraged to register at: tampagov. net/BTBTour
FYI
Howard W. Blake Class Of 1968
The Howard W. Blake High Class of 1968 will hold its class meeting on Saturday, July 13, 2019, 12:30-2 p. m. at the Martin Luther King Rec Center in West Tampa (old Sugar Shack), 2200 N. Oregon Ave.
Bring a classmate with you.
TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3