Governor Cuomo Boosts MWBE Participation in State of the State Address Jan. 5, 2011

LAKE PLACID, NY – Adworkshop, upstate New York’s employee-owned digital marketing agency, announces that it is now a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise through New York State’s Division of Minority and Women Business Development (MWBE).

Adworkshop and its public relations division Inphorm have been servicing clients throughout Upstate New York for more than 30 years. The MWBE certification, which is awarded by the Empire State Development Agency of New York, was given to the tourism marketing agency at the end of December. As one of the largest and most diverse marketing communications agencies in Upstate New York, majority percentage of the company ESOP shares are now owned by the 16 female employees of Adworkshop and Inphorm.

The MWBE program encourages equality in economic opportunities for women and minorities by seeking to eliminate barriers that may stand in the way of pursuing state contracts. Adworkshop and Inphorm join the more than 6,000 certified women and minority-owned businesses located throughout New York State. Adworkshop, established by Adele and Tom Connors more than three decades ago, is now listed in the Directory of Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, which is used by agencies and contractors statewide.

“When we started Adworkshop in 1977, Tom and I never dreamed we would be where we are as a company 34 years later,” Adworkshop Principal Adele Connors said. “Becoming an ESOP three years ago may have changed the way our company is structured, but not our mission to provide the very best product for our clients. The MWBE certification proves that we are continuing to evolve in exciting ways.”

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo outlined goals for MWBE’s in his State of the State Address Jan. 5, 2011:

“Of the 1.9 million business entities operating in New York State, more than 50 percent are owned by women or minorities. The vast majority of these companies are small businesses and a critical driver of the New York State economy. To ensure that MWBE’s have the opportunity to earn their fair share of the State’s business, Governor Cuomo directed State agencies to double the current MWBE participation goal from 10 to 20 percent and ease bonding restrictions that they will face and expand the Owner-Controlled Insurance Program model to expand opportunities for small businesses.”

About Adworkshop and Inphorm
Adworkshop, located in the Adirondack village of Lake Placid, NY is an employee-owned integrated marketing communications agency. Its team of professionals designs and executes customized, traditional and interactive strategies to achieve results for specific marketing objectives. Inphorm is the public relations extension of Adworkshop. Together, Adworkshop and Inphorm provide an integrated approach for brand building by delivering both awareness and credibility, while also driving sales and revenue growth. More information can be found at www.adworkshop.com , Facebook.com/ advertisersworkshop and www.inphorminc.com.