ITASCA, Ill., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- OfficeMax(R) recently awarded
scholarships to three of its minority- and women-owned catalog suppliers for
the Minority Business Executive Program at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of
Business. Morris Liao, vice president of marketing for Pointe Writing Company
in Schaumburg, Ill.; Lewis Scott, president of Simon Marketing, Inc. in Elgin,
Ill.; and Delilah Stevens, president of Hess Advanced Technology, Inc. in
Dayton, Ohio, were selected as OfficeMax's 2004 scholarship recipients.
The scholarship serves as one tool in OfficeMax's ongoing business
development initiative for its diverse supplier base. This is the third year
that the company has provided this scholarship opportunity.
"Most small and minority-owned businesses don't have extra money in the
budget to allocate for outside educational programs," said Stevens. "But this
scholarship allows companies like mine to participate that otherwise wouldn't
have been able to afford it."
The Minority Business Executive Program covers topics to help minority
businesses survive and prosper, including strategic planning, organization,
resources and systems and processes.
"The program used those four cornerstones to help me think about my future
strategy, how to organize more efficiently and how to excel in each area,"
said Liao. "The Tuck School really has a strong focus on minority businesses,
and they brought forth top-notch professors and curriculum."
OfficeMax is committed to the development of businesses owned and operated
by minorities, women, service-disabled veterans and those companies employing
people who are developmentally or physically challenged. In 2003, OfficeMax's
sales by minority- and women-owned suppliers increased by 22 percent. The
company is a founding member of the National Minority Supplier Development
Council (NMSDC) and the Women's Business Development Center.
"By investing in the talents of our minority businesses, we are helping
them to better serve our customers, which is our immediate goal," said Chris
Milliken, division president and CEO, OfficeMax. "By helping to develop better
business talent among smaller businesses, we are also ultimately helping to
build better business communities."
"It's good to know that Boise has enough confidence in our organization
and other minority businesses to invest in our development by providing this
scholarship," added Scott.
About OfficeMax
OfficeMax is a leader in both business-to-business office product
solutions and retail office products. OfficeMax delivers an unparalleled
customer experience -- in service, in product, in time savings, and in value -
through a relentless focus on its customers. The company provides office
supplies and paper, technology products and solutions, and furniture to large,
medium and small businesses and consumers. OfficeMax customers are served by
more than 40,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, Internet and
nearly 1,000 superstores. Having joined with Boise Office Solutions, the
company had pro forma revenues of $8.3 billion in 2003. OfficeMax is a
division of Boise Cascade Corporation.
About Boise Cascade Corporation
Boise (NYSE: BCC), headquartered in Boise, Idaho, provides solutions to
help customers work more efficiently, build more effectively, and create new
ways to meet business challenges. We own or control more than 2 million acres
of timberland, primarily in the United States, to support our manufacturing
operations. Boise's annualized first half 2004 sales were $13.9 billion. Visit
the Boise Web site at http://www.bc.com .
OfficeMax Contact Media Contact
Bill Bonner Cari Trayner, Bader Rutter & Associates
630 438 8584 262 784 7200
SOURCE OfficeMax
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Related links:
http://www.bc.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/115342.html
CONTACT:
Bill Bonner of OfficeMax, +1-630-438-8584, or
Cari Trayner of Bader Rutter & Associates, +1-262-784-7200
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