|  The
Business Development Association of the Inland Empire
(BDA/IE) provides individuals within the Architectural,
Engineering and Construction (A/E/C) industries with
education, information and networking opportunities
for lead generation and building contract teams.
BDA/IE Background
The BDA/IE was originally founded in the 1970’s
but fell dormant with the onslaught of the building
recession in the late 1980’s. In the fall of 2001,
a small group of business development professionals
working for A/E firms decided it was time to resurrect
the organization and set out to form a new Board of
Directors who would develop a schedule of luncheon meetings
for the upcoming year. The response from their fellow
A/E/C professionals was welcoming and overwhelming and
their first meeting was held in June of 2002.
BDA/IE Meetings and Who Attends?
BDA/IE monthly meetings are formatted to enable our
members and guests to network prior to the beginning
of the luncheon and speaker presentations. Interacting
and interfacing with fellow professionals not only opens
doors for new contract opportunities, but enhances their
business development skills by learning from one another.
In addition to business development and marketing professionals,
representatives from public agencies, and the private
sector -- including developers -- also attend our luncheon
meetings. They recognize the value of making acquaintances
within the A/E/C industries as they form future teams
for upcoming RFQs and RFPs. Attendance often reaches
80+ at these monthly meetings, drawing guests from throughout
the entire Inland Empire, San Diego, Orange County,
and Los Angeles County.
Meetings are held at the Ayres Hotel, near the Ontario Airport off the
10 freeway in the City of Ontario. This location is centrally located
within the Inland Empire and makes it convenient for
our members and guests who travel to our meetings from
throughout the Southern California region.
“Come for the networking but stay for the
speakers”
According to our guests, this is a common reason for
attending. They recognize the value of seeing friends
and meeting new colleagues, but they are also given
tools and information by our hand-selected roster of
keynote presenters.
Our speakers are asked to share updates on upcoming
projects and also how to best work with their agency
or private firm. Representatives from various cities,
counties, water districts, transportation agencies,
development/redevelopment departments, K-12 school districts,
institutions of higher education and the private sector
are just a few of the speakers who address our audience.
Presenters are encouraged to utilize our state-of-the-art
audio visual equipment to illustrate their information,
and to bring printed materials for future reference by
attendees.
Personal Development Workshops
In addition to feeding our members’ professional
appetites, at BDA/IE we also believe in enhancing the
personal side of business development. This is accomplished
through our dynamic workshops that are held bi-annually.
In our first year, we hosted workshops on marketing
conducted by a personal coach and trainer, and one on
Developing Effective Proposals, presented by panel of
industry professionals who review proposals.
Please refer to our Membership
Page to learn how you can become part of this progressive
organization.
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