NCAIED’s 40th anniversary celebrated at RES 2009

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NCAIED’s 40th anniversary celebrated at RES 2009

By Gale Courey Toensing

Story Published: Mar 9, 2009

Story Updated: Mar 9, 2009

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Back in the turbulent and creative 1960s, a small group of Native community leaders in California shared a vision of enhancing the quality of life for American Indians by improving their economic conditions.

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, which started back then as a grass roots economic development initiative by seven individuals in Los Angeles, will celebrate its 40th birthday during RES 2009 – the 23rd Annual Reservation Economic Summit & American Indian Business Trade Fair.

NCAIED, which hosts the annual summit, is the oldest and largest nonprofit American Indian economic and business development organization in the country with 11 offices staffed by more than 50 employees who supply management and technical assistance to Indian businesses and tribes nationwide.

RES 2009, a four-day conference and trade show, takes place Monday, March 9 through Thursday, March 12 at the Las Vegas Hilton. The conference is sponsored by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Raytheon.

 “Registrations are up, sponsorship is up, and even with the economic downturn people still see the value in this organization.”

– Maria Dadgar, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s director of development
“We are having our 40th annual anniversary and it will be almost like a birthday bash at RES. We’re having Native Music Rocks, a group production by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. It’s going to be huge. It will take place Monday night directly following the welcome reception,” said Maria Dadgar, NCAIED’s director of development.

Around 2, 500 people are expected to attend RES 2009.

RES awards recognize outstanding Indian business achievements

The Reservation Economic Summit & American Indian Business Trade Fair has a long tradition of recognizing outstanding individuals, organizations and companies for contributions to economic development and business progress in Indian country. The award nominations and selections are made by the staff and board of directors of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the nonprofit economic development and business planning organization that hosts the annual summit, and by the National Resource Council, the center’s advisory board.

The four-day conference of business  information, networking and training is expected to draw more than 2,500 attendees. Participants include American Indian entrepreneurs, tribal economic and business development decision makers, tribal leaders, government and corporate executives, and buyers seeking Indian suppliers and contractors.

The following awards will be presented during RES 2009 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. unless otherwise noted:
 

Business Achievement Awards
 

American Indian Business Owner of the Year: This award is presented to a profitable business owned and operated by an American Indian(s) who demonstrates good “corporate citizenship” to the community. This year’s award will be presented to Red Cloud Food Service Inc., of South Elgin, Ill.

Tribal Enterprise of the Year: This award is presented to a profitable business owned and operated by a tribe, which demonstrates positive community impact (economic and social). This year’s recipient is Indian Country Today, a division of Four Directions Media, Oneida Indian Nation, Canastota, N.Y.

Youth Entrepreneurship Award: This award is presented to a successful American Indian Youth Entrepreneurship project or to an advisor, volunteer, or counselor working with American Indian Youth on entrepreneurial endeavors. This year’s award will go to Peggy White Wellknown Buffalo, the Center Pole, Alexandria, Va.


Recognition Awards
 

Public Advocate of the Year: This award is presented to a government agency or one of its employees that demonstrates outstanding leadership in support of American Indian business and economic development. This year’s award goes to Elsie Meeks, First Nations Oweesta, Rapid City, S.D.

Corporate Advocate of the Year: This award is presented to a U.S. corporation or one of its employees that demonstrates outstanding leadership on behalf of American Indian businesses and the economic development within Native communities. This year’s recipient is Raytheon, Waltham, Mass.

Volunteer of the Year Award: This award recognizes an individual who is most responsible for contributing to the progress of American Indian business development. This year’s recipient is Fred Lona, Hilton Hotels Corporation.

The following awards will also be presented:

The Congressional Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Republican Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma.

The Tribal Gaming Visionary Business Empowerment Award will go to Chairman Stanley R. Crooks of the Shakopee Mdewakanton.

The American Indian Tribal Leadership Award will be presented to President Richard Bowers of the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Tuesday between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.


“Registrations are up, sponsorship is up, and even with the economic downturn people still see the value in this organization. We’re very pleased and it was a surprise to us all because we didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been phenomenal,” she said.

Dadgar, an enrolled member of the Piscataway Indian Nation of Maryland, has worked for NCAIED on and off for around 10 years.

“It’s the kind of place you can come and learn so many things and you can spin off, but for many reasons many of us end up wanting to come back and finding our way back here. I’m not the only person that’s recycled,” she said.

Over the past four decades, the center has worked with approximately 80 percent of the 550-plus federally acknowledged American Indian tribes and assisted over 25,000 Indian enterprises while training more than 10,000 tribal members in various aspects of business development.

NCAIED has helped its clients secure more than $4.5 billion in contracts and financing over the years.

The center, which is headquartered in Mesa, Ariz., provides services and training for tribal governments, Indian-owned business and aspiring business owners.

“A thumbnail sketch is, basically, we’re a 501c(3). We operate federal cooperative agreements and those agreements are funded through the Defense Logistics Agency. If you have a business and you need to get a contract that’s where you go. So we show you how to get contracts; we do basic procurement training and since we’re funded through the Defense Department, the contracts are with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and corporations like that,” Dadgar said.

Another area is providing funding through the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency to help American Indians plan and start businesses. The center’s services are funded by the federal government and provided free to its tribal clients, Dadgar said.

In addition to its training programs, NCAIED has what is believed to be the oldest college scholarship program of Native students in the country, awarding around five scholarships of $3,000 each year to Native students. Since federal funding is restricted to the purposes for which it is granted, the center holds a number of events to raise scholarship funds.

In addition to RES, the biggest annual function, the center hosts a golf tournament and several awards events.

The 21st Annual National Center Golf Classic was held in conjunction with RES 2009 in Las Vegas March 9. Participants enjoyed a round of golf at the Arroyo Golf Club at Red Rock, meals and refreshments throughout the day, a golf shirt, goodie bags filled with giveaways and business networking opportunities.

NCAIED also hosts a number of awards ceremonies, including the annual Indian Progress in Business event, a multi-faceted event of networking, Indian art and an awards banquet; and the First American Leadership Awards, an annual fundraising event that pays tribute to American Indian economic success and achievements, sponsored by Raytheon.

The awards ceremonies are important beyond the money raised for scholarships,
Dadgar said.

“One of the things that’s always a common thread with our awardees is the fact that they always give back to their communities so we recognize them not only for being successful financially – they’ve broken barriers that way – but they’ve found a way to give back so their recognition is an encouragement for them to keep going.”

Dadgar said the center plans to continue doing what it does best and plans on broadening and diversifying its services into contracts with federal agencies dealing with the environment, labor and energy.

 

Photo courtesy RES 2009

Among the keynote speakers at RES 2009 are, clockwise from top left, Mike Lettig, executive vice president of KeyBank Native American Financial Services; Kevin Gover (Pawnee/Comanche), director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian; Kim Kristoff, President, GEMTEK Products LLC; not pictured: Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist, Wells Capital Management; and Joe Garcia, president (Ohkay Owingeh, San Juan Pueblo), National Congress of American Indians.

“The National Center has been able to leverage its relationship with the federal government, local public agencies, Fortune 500 corporations and tribal nations for the benefit of Native American firms. And that, to me, is the most important statement about NCAIED. We’re a place where you can come and find a bridge to opportunity and we’ve been doing that since 1969.”

 

Tuesday, Mar 17 at 12:10 PM Anonymous wrote ...

As a correction...The Center Pole is on the Crow Indian Reservation in Garryowen, MT not Alexandria, VA and their website is http://sites.google.com/site/thecenterpole. The link in the article "RES 2009 awards outstanding indian country business leaders, advocates" is not the center pole website.

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Wednesday, Mar 11 at 11:24 AM Anonymous wrote ...

cool

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