By Jude-Anne Spencer-Phillip
On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the Pennsylvania Convention Center hosted “Doing Business with the Pennsylvania Convention Center: Diverse Business Roundtable.” The roundtable was the first of two events being hosted by the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA) in March to encourage greater participation by minority, women, and disadvantaged business enterprises (MWDBE) in contract opportunities at the Center.
“The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority and ASM Global are committed to fostering an environment 
in which all businesses are afforded equal access and an equal opportunity to compete for contracts with the Authority,” said David A. Nasatir, Esq., Chair of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. “There are many diverse businesses in the Philadelphia region that are not aware of the opportunities that exist with the Convention Center and are not familiar with the process for becoming one of our suppliers. The purpose of the roundtable events is to ensure that these businesses are provided with the tools and information they need to be able to successfully compete and contract with the Center.”
Approximately 75 diverse business owners were registered for the event and had the opportunity to interact with key staff of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and other business owners. During the event, they gained insight into the Center’s procurement processes and learned about some upcoming capital projects. Some of the Center’s DEI community partners, such as the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Economic Opportunity, the US Minority Business Development Agency, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, and the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council, were also on hand to provide attendees with important information on registering their businesses as a MWDBE and successfully operating as a diverse business owner.
“Last year, the Pennsylvania Convention Center spent approximately $20 million in capital projects ranging from IT upgrades, facility renovations, professional services, and the purchasing of goods and services,” said Jeffrey N. Brown, PCCA Board Member, Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee, and Founder, Chairman and CEO of Brown’s Super Stores, Inc. “Our goal is to create meaningful and substantial opportunities for MWDBEs in the Pennsylvania Convention Center and in our region.”
One such success story comes from Donahue Bailey, Project Executive at Atrium International, Inc. Atrium International, Inc. started as a subcontractor and is now one of the Center’s prime contractors, providing architectural engineering services with a specialization in project management and construction management.
“Working with the Pennsylvania Convention Center has been very impactful for our business,” Bailey said. “I attended several of the Doing Business with the Pennsylvania Convention Center events and was able to connect with one of the Center’s prime contractors at the time. As a result of that opportunity, the Center saw the quality of our work and we were eventually signed on as a prime contractor.”
“Being listed as a contractor for the Pennsylvania Convention Center has helped us to gain other business and I would encourage persons to take the first step towards expanding your business by attending the Doing Business with the Pennsylvania Convention Center events,” Bailey continued.
The next event in this effort will be a Doing Business with the Pennsylvania Convention Center: Networking Breakfast on Monday, March 28 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The event will include an insightful discussion with Jeffrey Brown and an opportunity to network with some of the Center’s prime contractors and community partners. Business owners can register for the event on Eventbrite.
Jude-Anne Spencer-Phillip is Senior Communications Manager at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
