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Suzette Eaddy To Retire From The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)

After 25 years of dedicated service, Suzette Eaddy, vice president, Conferences, Meetings and Events at NMSDC is set to retire on January 7, 2016.

Eaddy is a stalwart in the meetings industry whose career has spanned for more than 43 years and has been a frequent speaker at many industry events.  She was honored by Meeting News as one of The 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry, and as one of the Women Who Mean Business, by Minority Business News USA and with the 1993 Meeting Planner and 2004 Pioneer Awards from the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners. 

"We were fortunate to have a talent like Eaddy as part of our senior leadership team, said NMSDC President, Joset Wright-Lacy.  "Suzette Eaddy has been a consummate professional who has helped NMSDC expand our signature event, the NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Exchange to over 6,000 attendees.  Without her leadership it would not have been possible."

As vice president of Conferences, Meetings and Events, Eaddy was responsible for the strategic leadership and management of all NMSDC conferences, meetings, trade shows and special events.  Prior to joining NMSDC, Eaddy was deputy director of the National Urban League Conferences Department.  She began her National Urban League career in 1972, and served in a number of key administrative positions, including exhibit manager, prior to being appointed deputy director in 1984.  As deputy director of the Conferences Department, she was responsible for planning more than 100 meetings a year. 

Eaddy is a former instructor at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies, The Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Travel Administration. She is an active member of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners (NCBMP), (secretary of the board of directors, 1996-2002), and has served on the Hilton Hotels Corporation Meetings & Conventions Advisory Board (2002-2009), New Orleans National Customer Advisory Council (2006-2009),  Phoenix Customer Advisory Board (2007-201), San Antonio Customer Advisory Board (2009-2012), ARAMARK Customer Focus Group (2010)a, and a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).  She is a former member of the Convention Industry Council's Certified Meeting Professional Board of Directors (1999-2005).

Eaddy has written articles on conference and meeting management for the Meeting News Meeting Planners' Handbook, SMERF Meetings Journal and several other publications. Eaddy also has been a contributor to the International Encyclopedia of Hospitality Management (first and second editions) and was a member of the George Washington University Event Management Certificate Program curriculum review team. Eaddy was a member of the Convention Industry Council's Accepted Practices Exchange Initiative (APEX) Initiative Terminology Project, an APEX Ambassador and was also a reviewer for the Convention Industry Council Manual, 7 th and 8 th Editions.

She has been quoted in various publications including Association Conventions & Facilities, Association Meetings, Black Enterprise, Black Meetings and Tourism, Chicago Business Crain's, Convene, Corporate & Incentive Travel, Medical Meetings, Meetings & Conventions, and Successful Meetings as an expert on conference and meeting management.

About NMSDC

The National Minority Supplier Development Council advances business opportunities for certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business enterprises and connects them to its corporate members. One of the country's leading corporate membership organizations, NMSDC was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 24 affiliate councils across the country. There are nearly 1,800 corporate members throughout the network, including America's top publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The affiliate councils certify and match nearly 12,000 minority-owned businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their products, services and solutions.

For more information about NMSDC, visit the website at www.NMSDC.org.  

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