“This is a wonderful and important event we hope to grow,” Neil Walkoff, executive vice president of Regional Operations for Pinnacle Entertainment, said of the 3rd annual Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Vendor Fair.
Lumière Place and River City Casino sponsored the fair that featured roughly 80 local and out-of-state business vendors on November 14 at the Hotel Lumière Atrium.
Vendors networked with Lumière Place and River City Casino executives, local businesses, purchasing and supplier agents, showcasing a multitude of products and services. These products and services ranged from promotions and entertainment to landscaping and construction.
Howard Hayes of the St Louis Development Corporation, Teresa Stark of Lady Luck Casino, Steve Brueggeman of Ameristar Casino St. Louis and Jessica O’Neil of Hollywood Casino St. Louis (formerly Harrah’s Casino) were among diversity purchasing and supplier representatives at the fair.
Other companies and institutions represented included Ameren, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and Monsanto.
Josh McLeod, buyer at Lumière Place and River City Casino, said it was a chance for procurement teams to meet some of the best MBE and WBE suppliers.
“Last year’s event was a great success resulting in nearly $1 million in new business with diverse companies,” McLeod said.
“We know how important it is to ensure that we’re inclusive regarding businesses who want to sell their goods and services to us,” Walkoff of Pinnacle said.
Walkoff oversees business operations for Lumière Place and River City Casinos, Belterra Casino in Indiana, and River Downs Casino in Ohio, which are subsidiaries of Pinnacle Entertainment.
Rena Collins is president and managing director of Rena’s Final Cleaning & Construction, a St. Louis-based company. The company specializes in carpet and floor cleaning, office green cleaning and maintenance, decontamination for removal of illness in the workplace and other services. At the fair, Collins promoted the company’s line of cleaning supplies.
Rena’s Final Cleaning & Construction is MBE/ WBE and Section 3- and EPA-certified. In April, the company became an affiliate associate contractor with at 84 Lumber. She offered encouraging words to other minority women considering or trying to start their own business.
“Stop at nothing,” Collins said. “Find a passion, believe in it and go for it.”
Cesar Dovalina of Chicago, Ill. is founder and president of Cristina Foods, Inc., a wholesale foodservice distributor.
“We felt that this was a good opportunity to get our name out there in a different marketplace,” Dovalina said. “We hope to establish a few new relationships, whether it’d be on the supply side or consumer side.”
In 1990, Cristina Foods was certified as a Hispanic-owned minority business enterprise with the City of Chicago.
Janet Brown of Louisville, Ky. said it was her first time attending the vendor fair in St. Louis. As owner of ImagePRO Promotional Marketing, which deals with corporate branding, she knows that “effective promotional products increases sales and brand loyalty.”
It was this sound advice that circled around the ImagePRO logo on a casino chip she creatively used as a business card to solicit new business at the fair.
“Everybody needs to get their name out there,” she said. “Anyone who starts a business and are passionate about what they do want to communicate that.”
Erica Williams was another fair attendee. Williams is an enterprising and successful African-American woman who began her career as a runner in the music industry over 20 years ago. Now, she’s president and CEO of her own entertainment and special events company E2 or “E squared” Entertainment, with two offices in New York and her home state of Indiana.
“If you need a celebrity endorsement for your product, a host or moderator for your event – because many times people will come if the right person is there – I can you help you with that,” Williams said.
One of her clients is jazz artist Rob White whom she helped land a deal with Orpheus Enterprises.
“It’s all relationship-driven, regardless of what industry you’re in,” Williams said. “You never know who you’re gonna meet at these events.”
For more information on MBE/WBE vendors, visit www.oeo.mo.gov.
