1.  Changing of the Chairs: Please save the date for our formal Changing of the Chairs ceremony for January 26, 2011 in Washington, DC.  Exact venue will be announced shortly and it will be by invitation only.  We will celebrate the wonderful year of leadership by outgoing Chair, Sherrie Gilchrist, and welcome the introduction of incoming Chair, Arnold Baker.  Any inquiries can be made to Kay DeBow at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

2.  Proposed Changes in the ANC Program: Two bills have been introduced that can greatly affect the current Alaska Native Corporation program.  Senator Claire McCaskill has introduced S. 3959 and Congressman Bennie Thompson has introduced the House version H.R. 6447.  Basically, these bills will take away all of the exemptions and exceptions that have been enjoyed by Alaska Native Corporations in addition to the 8a Program.  The 8a Program will no longer have special treatment for any particular group other than Socially and Economically Disadvantaged business owners.  It will return to a Small Business Development Program.  THIS IS REAL BIG.

3.  Shaping an Africa Trade Strategy: The NBCC is forming a “Three Prong Approach” to the continent of Africa.  We will anchor our activities in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana and begin connecting all points in between.  We have a Fact Finding Trip to Kenya in February and shortly later to South Africa.  Trade missions to all three nations will occur during 2011.  Inquiries can be made to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text83410 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

4.  Trailblazer, The U.S. Navy’s First Black Admiral: We congratulate our own Conway Jones Jr. for his official Book Review on the great Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr. (http://www.usni.org/store/books/biography-memoirs/trailblazer) Military buffs are encouraged to get it.

5.  Accountability in Federal Subcontracting: The Obama Administration has begun publishing names of federal subcontractors on the Web.  The new subcontractor details are available on the Office of Management and Budget’s Web site, www.USASpending.gov.  Recipients of all federal contracts and grants larger than $25,000 will be required to report the names of companies they hire.  This will enable us to detect fronting and misrepresentation by prime contractors and expose them to the proper authorities.  THIS IS REALLY, REALLY BIG.

6.  ALEC Presentation: The NBCC cordially thanks the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for allowing us to present our policy concerning EPA issues and pending regulations/legislation.  Members of ALEC are state representatives and senators who lead the nation in local legislation.

7. Next Legacy Project Training Session: The next Legacy Project Training Session will be in Tampa, FL and co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Black Chamber of Commerce and the Florida State Black Chamber of Commerce.  Sherrie Gilchrist will take the reigns of Chair, Legacy Project beginning in February.  The details for this session are forthcoming and should occur sometime in the first quarter of this year.  Send questions to Ryan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .