Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Harrisburg sets second networking, certification event for minority, disadvantaged businesses

The federal courthouse is one of the main projects coming to Harrisburg that will need workers.

Harrisburg will host its second Minority, Women, Disadvantaged Business (MWDB) Enterprise event on Friday, a networking opportunity for local companies and a way to provide resources for small businesses.

The city is holding the event along with Capital Region Water and the Keystone Contractors Association.

“We want our small businesses, particularly women, disadvantaged and minority businesses in Harrisburg to partake in the [event],” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

Attending vendors will include PennDOT, the state Department of General Services, Mascaro Construction and the Community First Fund, as well as local banks and certification agencies.

Highlights will include the PA Department of Transportation, which will present a panel discussion on certifications, and Community First Fund, which will hold a panel on obtaining and using credit and will discuss its new fund for businesses.

Marc Kurowski, board chairman for Capital Region Water, said his company will undertake $40 million in capital improvement projects in 2018 alone.

“[This organization] has been fully committed to providing opportunities to local minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises in all of our local projects,” he said. “There is a lot of work that is coming out of CRW, as well as the city going forward, [with] opportunities for MWDB participation.”

Jon O’Brien, executive director of the Keystone Contractors Association, said that a strong connection between contractors, subcontractors and the market lead to a stronger city.

“It’s always good if you have firms that come in like Mascaro Construction—they’re coming to build a $200 million courthouse,” he said. “Firms like that, they want to come here, they want to work with local firms. They don’t want to rely on out-of-town firms or out-of-town workforce.”

Harrisburg currently has a long line of projects coming up, such as the building of the Harrisburg University office tower, the new state Archives and the federal courthouse.

“We’re in a situation where, over the next couple of years in Harrisburg, there are going to be so many opportunities for jobs, and we don’t want anyone to miss out,” Papenfuse said.

He added that, over the past four to five years, Harrisburg has stabilized after being on the brink of bankruptcy and is ready to welcome new business ventures and city projects.

“We’re ready for the next phase, and the next phase is empowering the community to take part and participate in the growth and economic development of the city,” he said. “We’re there for all small businesses.”

The MWDB Enterprise networking and certification event will be held this Friday, June 1, at the National Civil War Museum in Reservoir Park, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is available at capitalregionwater.com.

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