The Mississippi Development Authority will kick off its Model Contractor Development Program workshop series at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Hattiesburg Intermodal Facility, located at 308 Newman Street in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The nine weekly workshops, designed to teach small contractors and businesses practices that will improve their company’s operations and increase their bonding capacity, will be held each Thursday evening through April 16.
The MCDP workshop series is free of charge and open to all small contractors and businesses, but participants must enroll or already be enrolled in the Mississippi Contractor Procurement Network system (www.mscpc.com) in order to attend. Additionally, each company’s representative must agree to attend seven of the nine sessions to successfully complete the course.
The nine-week program schedule follows:
- Thursday, Feb. 19 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Kickoff/Orientation
- Thursday, Feb. 26 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Business Planning and Management
- Thursday, March 5 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Banking and Finance
- Thursday, March 12 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Bonding and Insurance
- Thursday, March 19 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Accounting and Financial Management
- Thursday, March 26 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Marketing, Estimating and Bidding
- Thursday, April 2 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Project Management and Field Operations
- Thursday, April 9 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Claims and Dispute Resolution
- Thursday, April 16 – 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Success Stories, Managing Growth, Graduation, Conclusion
The Hattiesburg workshop series is sponsored by MDA, the city of Hattiesburg, the South Mississippi Contract Procurement Center and The Surety and Fidelity Association of America.
Seating is limited, so interested parties are encouraged to register by visiting www.mscpc.com, and select “Events Calendar” and then “February 19.” For more information about the MCDP, please contact Latonia Shirley with MDA’s Minority and Small Business Development Division at (601) 359-6678 or lshirley@mississippi.org.
About Mississippi Development Authority
Mississippi Development Authority is the state of Mississippi’s lead economic and community development agency. Nearly 300 employees are engaged in providing services to businesses, communities and workers in the state. While the agency is best known for its efforts to recruit new businesses to Mississippi, the Authority provides services to promote tourism, help communities improve their quality of place, help existing employers identify and meet opportunities and challenges and help workers improve their skills – all with the goal of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of Mississippians. For more information, visit MDA’s website at www.mississippi.org.