Excellence In LGBT Business

WASHINGTON, DC () -- The leadership of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce reflected today on the organization's second annual International Business and Leadership Conference calling the three day event a "huge success!" The event took place the weekend of May 13-15 in San Francisco, CA and brought together over 225 representatives of the NGLCC's 45 US and Canadian affiliate chambers and business organizations as well as small business women and men and corporate allies. Conference attendees took part in three days of workshops, plenary sessions, an awards luncheon, and networking events designed to increase the business development opportunities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. 

"We are very pleased with the turnout and excitement generated from this year's conference," said NGLCC co-founder Chance Mitchell. Wells Fargo was the presenting sponsor for the 2005 event and was joined in support by IBM, Cendant, JPMorgan Chase, Intel, American Airlines, Avis, Chicago Gay Games, OUT Games Montreal, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and La Crema Winery. In addition, NGLCC's other corporate founders and visionaries including Motorola, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Lehman Brothers, and Cisco Systems were all on hand to help mentor LGBT business owners and establish relationships in an effort to bring increased development opportunities to the LGBT community.

Saturday's Excellence in LGBT Business Awards Luncheon paid tribute to outstanding leaders in the LGBT business community. Howard Buford and his multi-cultural advertising agency, Prime Access, received the event's highest honor, the NGLCC-Wells Fargo Excellence in Small Business Award. In addition to a trophy, Buford was presented with a check for $5,000.00 from Wells Fargo and was the first recipient of what will now become an annual endowment from the NGLCC and Wells Fargo.

Louise Chernin, Executive Director of the Greater Seattle Business Association, was honored for her outstanding leadership work with the GSBA. Chernin was also tapped to become the National Chair of the NGLCC Council on Chambers and Business Organizations, an NGLCC advisory body composed of state and local NGLCC affiliate chambers and business organizations.

The Greater Phoenix Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce was recognized as this year's Chamber of the Year for its exponential membership growth and innovative programs, including a mainstream partnership with the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, a statewide gay tourism program that was directly responsible for more that $8 million in new tourism dollars to the state, and for its first in the nation LGBT relocation guide.

The newly launched North Texas GLBT Chamber took away the honor as NGLCC's 2005 Rising Star Award for its strong start and explosive membership growth with over 240 new members in its first three months of operation.

A series of events designed to educate LGBT-owned businesses about certification under the NGLCC's Diversity Development and Procurement Initiative (DDPI) played a major role during the conference and culminated with an event that matched NGLCC certified and potentially certifiable businesses with corporations seeking LGBT suppliers to add to their supply chain. "Corporate America has stated its desire to contract with LGBT businesses. However, before the inception of our program there lacked a third party certifying body that focused on certification for the LGBT community like the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) do for minority and women-owned firms," said NGLCC co-founder Justin Nelson. "The success of this event and the tremendous corporate participation proves that LGBT America is open for business."

Other workshops included an Intel Corporation sponsored session designed to give participants the inside track to the latest technology available to streamline operations, increase output and have a positive effect on the company bottom line. Conference also learned how to gain access to capital opportunities to start or grow their enterprise and how to utilize NGLCC member benefits in that process.