BUSINESS IS BOOMING

North Texas companies are already benefiting from the 
Emerging Business Program

By David Lee

September 11, 2009

Kaye Burkhardt of Dallas Fan Fares says the program will “leave a legacy for the community.”

Reginald Beaudin of Already Gear is proud to be part of the program and plans to make the most of the opportunity.

Super Bowl XLV may be a year and a half away, but the North Texas business community is already benefiting from the biggest sporting event in the region’s history.

The Emerging Business Program is the NFL’s official business procurement program for minority- and women-owned companies. In Tampa last year, roughly $4 million in contracts were awarded to 130 companies which participated in the initiative.

The Super Bowl XLV Host Committee is overseeing the program’s expansion to North Texas to help qualified businesses who want to capitalize on the opportunities Super Bowl XLV presents to the region.

“The Super Bowl will be a very historic event for North Texas,” says Robbie Douglas, the Host Committee’s Director of Business Development. “We are very excited for the region, and understand that the entire world will be looking at North Texas.

“This is really a unique opportunity for local businesses to engage the NFL and NFL purchasing entities — to actually evolve their business, to grow their business. We will help them in terms of preparation to do business around the Super Bowl. It’s all about shoring up their business so that they become competitive even beyond the game.”

A series of workshops will be conducted starting in the fall for companies interested in getting involved, but local businesses are already taking advantage of the program. Cathy Hutzler, owner of Purrsnickitty Design, is in charge of the Host Committee’s creative design for various print materials and websites, including  www.northtexassuperbowl.com.

Hutzler says that the program helps to give minority- and women-owned businesses the opportunity to get involved and to present their products and services.

“This is definitely a platform to showcase my work,” Hutzler says of the Emerging Business Program. “All across the United States, my work is being seen. It helps someone like me grow my business. I may never have come across an opportunity like this without the Emerging Business Program.”

That’s exactly what the initiative was designed to do, according to Douglas. “The spirit of the Emerging Business Program is inclusion and opportunity,” she says. “The purpose is really to identify opportunities for local businesses that they may have otherwise not known about.”

Reginald Beaudin owns Already Gear, a company specializing in promotional products and giveaways such as bags and miniature footballs. He says that working with an event as big as the Super Bowl is a dream come true for his company.

“It blows me away. It shows that hard work and good customer service has really paid off,” Beaudin says. “We have waited for these types of opportunities for a very long time. To be able to give the Host Committee the high level of products that they deserve is just awesome.”

Renee Dutia runs Regali Inc., a marketing and promotions technology company that provides database solutions for businesses. Her company is helping to streamline the process for vendors who want to be part of the North Texas Emerging Business Program.

“It doesn’t get any better than partnering with the Host Committee,” she says. “The Super Bowl Host Committee has done such a marvelous job including our North Texas region. Our community is multi-faceted and multicultural.”

Dallas Fan Fares is a destination management company specializing in corporate hospitality and meeting management. Owner Kaye Burkhardt appreciates the rare exposure that the Emerging Business Program provides her company.

“I’ve never seen another organization other than the National Football League have a program like this,” she says. “It gives emerging business so many opportunities to grow and validate their business. If they’re fortunate enough to get to work with any part of the Super Bowl program, forever and ever, they can put that on their resume.”

The North Texas Emerging Business Program is creating a database of minority- and women-owned companies that are prepared to do business around Super Bowl XLV. This list will be a powerful tool for future business endeavors as well.

“The list can be used by convention and visitors bureaus, by hotels, and by other corporations that are going to be coming to North Texas,” Burkhardt says. “It leaves a legacy for your community.”

Helping local businesses succeed and grow through partnerships with the Super Bowl is a top priority for the Host Committee. With the Emerging Business Program just getting underway in North Texas, many more success stories have yet to be told, because as Burkhardt said, “It’s going to take all of North Texas to pull off this Super Bowl.”