11/8/02
The Chicago Transit Authority will co-sponsor the sixth annual Transit Symposium and Business Exchange on Tuesday, November 12, 2002 from4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 South Michigan Avenue.
The event will bring the transit industry's leading suppliers, contractors and professional firms together with officials and purchasing representatives from the Chicago area's major public transportation agencies. Symposium attendees will hear about the various agencies? procurement forecasts for 2003 and will have the opportunity to network and promote their firms? products and services.
The Symposium is designed to encourage vendors, including those that are Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms, to meet the procurement and DBE representatives from each agency. In addition to Purchasing and DBE, the CTA will have representatives from Construction, Engineering, Facilities Maintenance, Human Resources, Marketing, and other departments available to answer questions and discuss business needs. Information will be provided to all attending firms that may lead to future business opportunities within the sponsoring agencies.
This year, several major corporations, local manufacturers, distributors and professional firms, along with bonding and lending representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization will be available to meet with small business owners.
The Symposium also will encourage vendors to explore developing partnerships that will broaden business opportunities in both the public and private sectors. It also provides a forum for CTA, RTA, Metra and Pace to assist vendors in exploring the benefits of supplier diversity.
There is a $50.00 mail registration or a $60.00 fee on-site the day of the event. For further information on registering for the Transit Symposium, contact the CTA's Office of Small Business Development at 312-664-7200, ext. 3515 or visit the CTA website at www.transitchicago.com.
CTA founded the Symposium in 1994, which was originally called the Strategic Alliance Initiative. Due to the Symposium's popularity, the Regional Transportation Authority, Metra and Pace were invited to join the Symposium and have served as co-sponsors for the past six years.
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