BNSF News

Diverse Business Enterprise Awards Honor DBE Suppliers, BNSF People

2008-12-22

BNSF recently honored three diverse business enterprises (DBEs) and two employees at BNSF's third annual DBE Awards.

• EMR Inc. received the Distinguished Supplier Award.
• Beacon Systems received the Regional Supplier Award
• MDI Group received the Newcomer of the Year Award.

Dennis Johnson, vice president, Strategic Sourcing and Supply, presented the awards at a ceremony at BNSF headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.

We believe that the unique perspectives of a diverse workforce can strengthen our business, improve our relationships with the communities we serve, and enhance our ability to deliver for our customers. This applies to our suppliers as well as our own workforce," Johnson said. "These three diverse business enterprises have done an excellent job for BNSF, and I am pleased to provide them with these awards."

EMR Inc. is a Native American woman-owned federally certified small company that has been a supplier for BNSF for more than 20 years. EMR Inc. provides services such as emergency response work, waste management, environmental services, demolition, construction management and design/build.

Beacon is a Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)-certified company that provides information technology staffing with an expertise in the SAP software platform. Based in Bedford, Texas, Beacon became a new supplier in 2008 and will continue to do business with BNSF as a partner through BNSF's vendor managed-solutions provider MDI Group.

MDI Group is a woman-owned corporation certified by WBENC and is a member of WBENC's board of directors. BNSF began working with MDI earlier this year as the managed services provider for the acquisition and management of contract labor. MDI leverages staffing experience while managing efficiency, controlling costs and improving worker quality for BNSF.

Employee recognition

Kristi Radford, director, Fuel management, received the DBE Stakeholder of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the BNSF stakeholder who champions DBE efforts above and beyond normal practice. Radford manages relationships with fuel suppliers and has been supportive of the DBE Tier Two program, where BNSF asks its key and core suppliers to report their DBE spend. She has also supported new suppliers in bid opportunities.

Andy Manthei, director, Strategic Sourcing and Supply, received the DBE Strategic Sourcing and Supply Employee of the Year Award. This recognition is presented annually to Strategic Sourcing and Supply employees who demonstrate proactive involvement in BNSF’s DBE program. Manthei manages BNSF’s Technology Services supplier relationships. Throughout 2008, he has been involved in the development of business partnerships with diverse firms including new manager service provider MDI. In addition, Manthei has been an active participant in diversity events including the national WBENC conference.

About the photos:

• First row of photos: Dennis Johnson, vice president, Strategic Sourcing and Supply, left in all three photos, poses with representatives of EMR, Beacon and MDI Group (left to right). In the EMR photo with Johnson are EMR representatives Thomas Patnode, executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Connie Cook, chief executive officer (CEO). In the Beacon photo, Johnson is pictured with Kerry Williams (center), CEO, and Katie Coburn, president. In the MDI Group photo, Johnson is posting with Holly Erlichman, director; Daryl Fox, strategic account executive; and Mike Cleland, president.
• Second row of photos: Steig Sabee, assistant vice president, Strategic Sourcing and Supply, poses with Kristi Radford, (photo on the left) and Andy Manthei (photo  on the right).

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