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Guilford County sets policy for equity in awarding business contracts

The offices of the Minority/Women Business Enterprise Program of Guilford County are located in the Old Guilford County Courthouse. Courtesy guilfordcountync.gov

The offices of the  Minority/Women Business Enterprise Program of Guilford County are located in the Old Guilford County Courthouse. Courtesy guilfordcountync.gov  

Guilford County is moving forward to facilitate the equitable distribution of county contracts with local businesses. 

In an effort to counter marketplace discrimination, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners last week approved the first Minority/Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program Policy and Procedure Manual.

While the program has existed for several decades, this is the first time the board has codified policy to help develop and grow minority, women and small business enterprises in the county.

Shaunne Thomas is the county MWBE director. She says the manual is important because it helps prioritize transparency, communication, and accountability.

"The most important thing about codifying your policy is that it outlasts the will of a particular person or group of people," says Thomas. "It becomes a part of the DNA of the county."

Thomas says that the manual will help improve the equitable distribution of county contracts and ensure that taxpayers are getting a good return on their investment.

The program has incorporated several recommendations included in a recent disparity study.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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