The Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC) announced that Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer, was named a 2018 Top 100 MBE winner.
This prestigious award recognizes owners of minority business enterprises in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia who have demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial accomplishments, a high level of professionalism, and have made substantial contributions to their community.
Established in 2007, the Top 100 MBE Awards® ceremony welcomes nearly 1,000 attendees in celebration of the creativity and innovation of regional MBEs who are role models and inspire the entire community.
Sharon R. Pinder, CRMSDC’s president and CEO, says, “Our board of directors and our corporate members congratulate the 2018 Top 100 MBEs® on their stellar accomplishments. We are proud to add this year’s class of winners to our circle of leadership.”
The Top 100 MBE Awards® will be presented at the CRMSDC’s 37th annual Leaders and Legends Awards Ceremony, on Tuesday Sept. 25 at the MGM National Harbor.
Mrs. Rolark Barnes says, “I am honored and excited to be recognized and to be among such an outstanding group of awardees. I am grateful to our staff, clients, partners and family for their commitment to The Washington Informer’s success.”
About Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC)
CRMSDC is celebrating its 46th anniversary as a not-for-profit economic development organization supporting growth in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia through programs and services that help corporations enhance the diversity and innovation of their supply chains. CRMSDC connects corporate and government members to well established, certified minority-owned business enterprises.
We accomplish this through a rigorous process of certifying that MBE suppliers are at least 51% owned, controlled and operated by ethnic minorities; providing education and advice to certified businesses; and finally, creating strategic opportunities for corporate members and certified MBEs to connect for the purpose of doing business.
CRMSDC, established in 1972, is one of 23 regional affiliates of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the only nationally recognized MBE certifying authority. CRMSDC is headquartered in Silver Spring Maryland.
CRMSDC also operates two programs funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) grants: (1) The MBDA Business Center, Washington D.C., helps minority-owned firms create jobs, compete in the global economy and grow their businesses, and (2) The Federal Procurement Center which is the nation’s only federally-funded program solely dedicated to assisting MBEs in obtaining Federal contracts.
Together these three organization form the CRMSDC MBE Business Consortium, the largest provider of MBE support services in the region.
About The Washington Informer
The Washington Informer Newspaper Co., Inc. is a local, woman-owned, weekly newspaper and a multimedia news organization covering the African American community. Established 53-years ago by the late Dr. Calvin Rolark, the Washington Informer reaches over 50,000 readers each week through its award-winning print edition, and many more subscribers online, and on social media. Along with its non-profit Washington Informer Charities, the Washington Informer is the official sponsor of the annual spelling bee in D.C. and in Prince George’s County.