Florida Power & Light Company today honored minority and women-owned businesses providing exceptional service to the company during an event sponsored by FPL and the Florida Regional Minority Business Council (FRMBC). The annual Vendor in the Spotlight recognition ceremony held at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens is part of FPL's continuing effort to build and recognize professional relationships with minority and women-owned businesses.

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Three businesses were honored for their outstanding performance. These business owners commented about their working relationship with FPL.

"We provide the best staff -- both in the office and in the field. We appreciate the opportunity to work with FPL doing underground utility work," said Marge Miley, co-owner of M & M Backhoe Service.

"The ability to deliver a quality product on time is critical for FPL," said Larry Riche, owner of Strategic Assemblies, a distributor of electronic components. "We do it consistently; and it's a big reason we've been successful," he said.

Safety Plus owner, Janet Dunn, has quickly earned a reputation for providing exceptional customer service. "My company has provided FPL with safety items such as fire extinguishers, glasses, gloves, specialty tags and traffic control devices since mid-2001. We are committed to providing outstanding customer service," Dunn said.

FPL purchased more than $128 million in products and services from minority and women-owned vendors in 2001, exceeding its 2000 spending of $116 million. "FPL's supplier diversity program opens the door for these businesses to market their products and services. It helps them be more competitive when doing business with FPL. In addition, we believe the best and most creative solutions result from a diverse team effort. These companies offer that diversity as well as quality solutions," said Isabel Hebert, manager of supplier diversity for FPL. "This event is a way to recognize these exceptional vendors and to demonstrate our continuing support of minority and women-owned businesses in our area," she said.

Criteria used to evaluate the spotlighted vendors were strong customer orientation; commitment to quality; cost-effective operations; speed, simplicity and flexibility; volume of business; and total customer satisfaction.

The Vendor in the Spotlight recognition event is also a fund-raiser benefiting FRMBC. FRMBC is a non-profit corporation established to foster business development and expansion of minority-owned firms.

Beatrice Louissaint, FRMBC's president and chief executive officer said, "This event is an excellent opportunity to say thank you for exceptional service and to recognize and foster relationships with minority-owned businesses."

FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $8 billion, is nationally known as a high quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization, focused on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in more than 15 states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, an FPL Group energy-generating subsidiary is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. FPL FiberNet, LLC is a provider of fiber- optic networks in Florida. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.fplgroup.com/, http://www.fpl.com/, http://www.fplenergy.com/ and http://www.fplfibernet.com/.

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SOURCE: Florida Power & Light Company