NEW YORK, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) – one of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations for supplier diversity – will host its annual Conference and Business Opportunity Fair in Orlando, Florida, November 2-5. This best-in-class gathering of nearly 7,000 corporate leaders, supplier diversity professionals, Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American-owned businesses and guests from around the world will be held at the Orange County Convention Center. The Walt Disney Company is the corporate co-chair of the four-day conference, and Liberty Power Corp. is the minority business enterprise (MBE) co-chair for the event.

“Florida has a growing, thriving minority business community,” said NMSDC President Joset Wright-Lacy. “The Sunshine State has been the backdrop for successful NMSDC conferences in the past, and we expect a large turnout of guests from around the world at this year’s event.”

The 2013 event in San Antonio contributed more than $30 million to the local economy. That figure could be higher in sunny Orlando.

The event kicks off on Sunday, November 2, with a Welcome Reception at Epcot World ShowPlace. Monday highlights include the one-day Business Opportunity Fair – one of the nation’s largest minority business tradeshows – with more than 700 corporate and MBE exhibit booths. The schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday features a slate of 10 daily workshops for corporate procurement professionals, minority suppliers and members of the NMSDC network leadership team. The event concludes with an awards banquet on Wednesday evening, where winners will be announced for Corporation of the Year, Regional Council of the Year, Minority Supplier Development Leader of the Year and Suppliers of the Year.

Online registration is open through Friday, October 10, at www.NMSDCConference.com. Guests can also make hotel reservations via the conference website. For more information, please contact NMSDC at +1-212-944-2430 or visit www.NMSDCConference.com.

More than 30 of the nation’s largest corporations are sponsors of the event, including Altria, AT&T, BP America, Capital One, Chevron, Ciena, The Coca-Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company, Ford, General Motors, Hilton Worldwide, Honda, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Kellogg’s, Liberty Power, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Manpower, Pacific Gas & Electric, Raytheon, Shell, SodexoMagic, Sprint, Target, Toyota, Verizon, Walmart, Wellpoint, Wells Fargo and UPS.

About NMSDC

The National Minority Supplier Development Council advances business opportunities for certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business enterprises and connects them to corporate members. One of the country’s leading corporate membership organizations, NMSDC was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

The NMSDC Network includes a National Office in New York and 24 affiliate regional councils across the country. There are 1,750 corporate members throughout the network, including most of America’s largest publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned NMSDC companies, as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The regional councils certify and match nearly 13,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their products, services and solutions. For more information, visit www.NMSDC.org.

SOURCE National Minority Supplier Development Council