Duquesne Light - Light Up Night

This Friday the 18th is the 51^st Duquesne Light - Light Up Night!  

It's our BIGGEST celebration ever and it’s all for you!  Join the excitement of the official kick-off of the Downtown Holiday shopping season. Pittsburgh’s stars come out as the stars come up! The entire Golden Triangle becomes the stage for one of the largest holiday celebrations in the nation.

People of all ages will have the opportunity to experience Downtown like never before during TWO BIG DAYS filled with free high-quality family entertainment by some of Pittsburgh’s most memorable performers.

For more information, click here.

Contractor Networking Event

PNC Bank will be holding an informal networking session for Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contractors for jobs at the new Tower at PNC Plaza that will be built in downtown Pittsburgh.  This event will be held at the August Wilson Center at 980 Liberty Avenue, on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 from 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm.  The goal of this event is to provide a networking opportunity for PNC Bank and PJ Dick, Inc. to personally meet M/W/DBE firms that are interested in working on the construction of the Tower at PNC Plaza.

The construction budget is estimated $400 million dollars, with women and minority owned businesses making up approximately $40 million dollars.  All individual attendees are required to register for the event, a maximum of two attendees per company may attend.

Follow the link to register: https://www.cvent.com/events/pnc-construction-contractor-diversity-networking-event/registration-60abb63d356546a7baa6dd3b393a6781.aspx

Diversity Business Resource Center Contracts With The Riverside Center For Innovation

The Diversity Business Resource Center (DBRC), a consulting and referral provider for disadvantaged small businesses and entrepreneurs, has reestablished its partnership with Riverside Center for Innovation(RCI), the small business incubator located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh.

The DBRC was originally the brainchild of the MWDBE Governmental Committee, which is a collaboration of the diversity procurement officers of the local public agencies like ALCOSAN and the Pittsburgh International Airport as well as private companies in SW Pennsylvania charged with expanding contracting opportunities for women, minorities, and veterans. The DBRC serves the ten (10) county region which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland.

The DBRC will reestablish its presence at RCI which will add additional support and training for disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Newly hired Director, Judith Woodson McNeil, starts with a database of over 450 qualified vendors and contractors available to connect with government contracting opportunities and will seek new companies to join the network from surrounding counties. Judy has over 13 years of experience working in the non-profit community with a diversified background in financing, contracting and recruitment of disadvantage individuals and entrepreneurs.

The DBRC program will work with its clients seeking new and expanded business relationships with local government agencies that lead to significant increases in sales. This is in addition to advocating for disadvantaged small businesses on important issues such as access to capital as well as continuing to be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs to quickly gain access to business development information. Emily Buka, Executive Director of RCI says, "This venture dovetails well with the mission and re-vision of RCI since our purpose is to create a healthy environment for the region’s entrepreneurs and small businesses by providing incubation support, training, and innovation strategies.". RCI offers entrepreneurial training, workshops, contracting opportunities and shared office services. RCI is a Pennsylvania certified industrial development company that can access state financing programs to assist in the growth of small businesses.

For more information, persons should contact Juan Garrett, Riverside Center for Innovation, (412)322-3523 or Judy McNeil at 412-322-3272

Are you at risk of losing your home? NACA provides free services!

"NACA has legally binding contracts with all the major lenders and investors to achieve permanent affordable solutions for many thousands of homeowners."

 This event begins tomorrow at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Hall B, from 8 am to 8pm. This event will run through Monday, October 31st. Register at naca.com or by calling 1-888-499-6222.

Community Visioning Open House

Are you interested in improving Downtown Coraopolis? How about more public access to the Ohio River? Helping to restore the Historic Train Station?
The Borough of Coraopolis along with its community partners: the Borough of Midland, the City of Aliquippa; the Borough of Monaca; and the Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) have joined together to undertake a grass-roots effort to re-think the future of our communities as a way to respond to the changes in our manufacturing/industrial base and the post-industrial brownfields legacy that remains. The four communities combined received a $150,000 federal grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); to developed area-wide revitalization plans, primarily focused on redeveloping vacant or under-utilized properties and to identify infrastructure improvements needed to stimulate revitalization. This effort is partly an outcome of the ORTC’s initiative to provide increased access to and along the river corridor and the revitalization of the numerous blighted parcels, many of which are perceived brownfields.

The first public open house/meeting in Coraopolis is scheduled for:

Wednesday October 12th, 2011 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

The Coraopolis Community Development Foundation located at 1000 5th Avenue.
Please stop by and review initial findings and contribute your ideas!

For more information: http://www.ohioriverbrownfields.com/sample-page/aliquippa/

Sam’s Club Will Be Here On Friday!

Sam’s Club will be available Friday, September 30, 2011 onsite to explain the benefits of a Business Membership. Let us help you save money and time for your business.

Learn more about:

· Receive a $10 -$25 gift card Friday just for joining!

· Learn about our Fax/Click n Pull free service

· Office Supplies are 30%-50% off retail

· Over 26,000 office supply items available on samsclub.com

· Early shopping hours

· First Data Merchant Credit Card processing Discount (free plus membership)

· SBA Loans

· Earn up to 2% cash back on Sam’s Club Discover

TComm Event on October 13th

The TCOMM Event is a fast-paced, interactive conference designed for small businesses and innovators who want to create and commercialize new technologies. Breakout sessions include:

• Early-Stage Funding for Energy-Related Startup Companies
• Managing Intellectual Property
• Strategies for Beta Testing & Corporate Partnering

• SBIR-STTR Discussion panel with Federal & State Agencies:                                                                                                          
        Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
        Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
        National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
        Department of Agriculture (USDA)
        PA Innovation Partnership
• Tales From the Trenches: How to Successfully Commercialize Your Clean Technology Product
• Get Connected: Regional Alternative Financing Programs
• The Investor-Ready Entrepreneur: Getting a “Yes” from Investors
• Go Global: Taking Your Technology Abroad
• That’s a Great Idea, But Will It Sell?

The TCOMM EVENT will be on October 13th at the Holiday Inn, Pittsburgh @ University Center (Oakland)

During lunch, keynote speaker Lalit Chordia, Ph.D. details his path to success—from the creation of a new idea to commercialization to winning SBA Exporter of the Year.
Dr. Chordia is president and founder of Thar Technologies, which specializes in commercial applications for high-pressure carbon dioxide process technologies.

For more information please visit: http://www.sbdc.duq.edu/tcomm.asp