FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DCC HOSTS WORKSHOP FOR SMALL

WOMEN, MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES

            DANVILLE, VA, Dec. 10, 2004 – Danville Community College will host “Selling to State and Local Governments: Strategies for Success,” a free seminar designed to educate Virginia’s small, women and minority-owned businesses about new opportunities to sell goods and services to the Commonwealth of Virginia and local buyers.

The event will take place Jan. 5, 2005 in  Oliver Hall Auditorium (Temple Building) on the DCC campus. The program begins with a registration at 7:30 a.m., and ends at 12:00 noon.

            The seminar will include new information about the Virginia procurement process, including the use of eVA, the state’s electronic purchasing system, women and minority-owned business vendor certification, strategies for marketing to government buyers, and business assistance and counseling services.  Businesses also will have the opportunity to meet with purchasing officers from several state and local agencies during the Vendor Matchmaking and Assistance Fair.

            Several initiatives undertaken by Governor Mark Warner and his administration have focused on learning what the Commonwealth can do to strengthen women and minority-owned businesses, and improve their access to state contracting.  Danville Community College and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance are partnering on this event in an effort to support these initiatives. 

            For more event information and registration, please visit www.dcc.vccs.edu and click on the “Of Special Interest…” link or contact DCC Purchasing Agent Patricia Mullins at (434) 797-8450, toll free – 800-560-4291, ext. 8250.

            Danville Community College is one of 23 colleges in the Virginia Community College System. The college’s service region includes the City of Danville, Halifax County and Pittsylvania County. More than 6,500 students attending classes annually on the main campus and at off-campus locations.