Partnering to boost minority and women-owned businesses
This year, EPB celebrated the 20th anniversary of our Minority and Women-Owned Business (MWOB) program which has supported job creation and broader prosperity through more than $90 million in contracts with diverse businesses owners in the last two decades. Our company actively seeks minority and women-owned businesses that can provide needed products and services to EPB.
Michael Jones at Special Touch Lawn Care counts himself as one of the success stories from this effort. As he was starting his landscaping business, he won a small initial contract which EPB had sized specifically so that it could be handled by a small local company. Earning that contract at the outset helped Jones build his business and hire more employees. Now Jones has many vegetation management contracts with EPB along with the City of Chattanooga and the Chattanooga Housing Authority. Jones also employs workers who were formerly incarcerated to help them on their road to a better quality of life.
Another partner in this program is Luke Grant of L.K Grant Company. He started with a small contract for building maintenance with EPB. Recognizing his excellent work, EPB provided him with referrals and references in his bid to win business from other companies. Now, Grant has built a book of business that includes $500,000 in contracts.
“We foster an inclusive process in procurement that invites the broadest possible participation of vendors who have the ability to meet the needs of EPB,” said Ken Jones, Senior Director of Procurement, Vendor Relations & MWOB. “Minority and women-owned businesses are always fairly assessed and provided constructive feedback to help them qualify. We carry a commitment to provide equal access and opportunities to all vendors in our community.”
Businesses with annual sales of less than $4 million may qualify for the program if they are owned by an individual who is an ethnic or racial minority, a woman, a veteran or a disabled person.
Working to revitalize local economic activity
Continuing EPB's commitment to reducing the economic impact of COVID-19 whenever possible, EPB partnered with River City Company as the community began to return to more normal activities at the outset of the fiscal year. One of the initial efforts was the launch of the Chattanooga Express e-gift card program to encourage people to return to doing business with small, local employers. The effort yielded $114,000 in direct value to Chattanooga businesses and spurred many more dollars in additional spending. Studies show local, independent retailers recirculate 47% of their revenue back into a community.
With support from EPB, River City hosted a series of events to encourage people to get back out into the community and patronize local businesses. More than 52,000 people participated in these outdoor events which included live music, movie nights, holiday happenings, giant games, family fun & food events, art installations and local maker marketplaces at Miller Park and Miller Plaza across the street from EPB's downtown building and other gathering spaces.
Bringing new dollars into the local economy
This year EPB Broadband Solutions also continued the effort to provide services that help utilities and municipalities around the country reduce costs and increase speed-to-market as they begin to deploy fiber networks. Working with community-based providers outside the EPB service area benefits our customers by bringing new dollars into our local economy and driving new job creation.
During the fiscal year, EPB Broadband Solutions introduced three new services, Fi Hub Dashboard, Fi Ticketing and Alarm Monitoring, to help communities provide a better customer experience with our complete Customer Care and Technical Support services.
In addition to supporting local job creation, EPB Broadband Solutions realizes greater economies of scale for our customers by spreading the cost of local infrastructure and internet transport across revenues generated from subscribers who live outside our area. To date, EPB Broadband Solutions has established contracts with 18 Municipal and Co-op internet providers with the potential to serve 1.1 million subscribers who live as far away as Texas and Pennsylvania.
EPB Broadband Solutions also provides wholesale services to 30 additional providers. Due to increased interest in new, community-based fiber optic deployments and the availability of federal dollars for broadband infrastructure, EPB Broadband Solutions is currently working a large pipeline of additional customers and anticipates continued opportunities for strong growth over the next several years.
