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Atlanta Tribune Publisher Pat Lottier to be Honored by the U.S. Commerce Department's MBDA

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) proudly announces the 2011 National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week award winners. Awardees will be honored at a gala on September 30 in Washington, D.C.

“The minority-owned firms selected are excellent examples of U.S. firms producing American-made products and services that are creating jobs for Americans,” said MBDA National Director David Hinson. “These businesses are helping America ‘win the future’ by boosting our economy and global competitiveness.”

These awards are designed to highlight the outstanding achievements of minority entrepreneurs and businesses based on their total revenues, jobs created and the economic impact they’ve had on their community. MBDA also recognizes individuals and organizations that have demonstrated leadership and commitment in advancing the minority business community.

The National Minority Business Award Winners include:

Media Award – Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, Pat Lottier
Pat Lottier is publisher and CEO of the award-winning Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, a monthly magazine that covers and reports on business-related stories affecting the African-American community in Atlanta’s metropolitan area. Since purchasing the publication in 1987, Lottier has enhanced its layout and design, extended the scope of the news coverage and has overseen a dramatic increase in subscription.

Minority Construction Firm of the Year – Metcon Construction, Pembroke, NC
Metcon, Inc. is a multi-discipline general contracting firm organized to assist clients in managing the construction process from concept through pre-construction and construction, to a successful project completion.

Minority Manufacturer of the Year – Superior Communications, Inc., Baldwin Park, CA
Superior Communication, Inc. started with a handful of employees in the cellular phone aftermarket accessory business, and has since grown to about 350 employees and annual revenues of $400 million. The company serves six out of the seven top U.S. wireless telephone carriers in their accessory needs.

Minority Retail Energy Firm of the Year – SilRay, Inc., Palo Alto, CA
SilRay, Inc. was established in 2007 and has become a leading independent solar retail energy provider. SilRay maintains branch operations in Cannes, France and Shanghai, China. It was selected by the U. S. Coast Guard in 2010 for the construction of its first solar power plant.

Minority Global Technology Firm of the Year – InfoPeople Corporation, New York, NY
InfoPeople Corporation has grown from a one-man operation in 1998 to a multi-national company serving Fortune 1000 companies in the United States and India. Over the past five years, InfoPeople has generated $1 billion in revenue and doubled its number of employees.

Minority Global Supplier Distributor of the Year – Redapt, Inc., Redmond, WA
Redapt, Inc. was founded in 1996 as a self-funded startup initially focused on selling quality refurbished UNIX and expanded to meet the needs of its customers. Redapt is now a VAR of Dell, IBM, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, F5 Networks and others.

The following champions are recognized for their commitment to creating an environment for minority business growth:

Advocate of the Year – Omar Duque, President & CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Omar Duque is the president and CEO of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the leading Hispanic business, networking, advocacy and development organization in Illinois. Duque has served as an advisor on major economic development projects in the Chicago area, including the redevelopment of Soldier Field and the expansion and redevelopment of Chicago’s Midway Airport.

Distinguished Supplier Diversity Award – Delphi Automotive, Ruben Estrada
Ruben Estrada is the director of Indirect and M&E North America at Delphi Global Supply Management of Delphi Automotive. For more than 100 years, Delphi has set the highest standards, including a corporate policy to assist minorities in achieving economic equality through business placement with diverse suppliers. The annual spend with minority- and women-owned firms has exceeded $7.4 billion during the past decade.

Access to Capital Award – The Loan Fund, F. Leroy Pacheco
The Loan Fund, established in 1989, has lent more than $43 million and helped to create more than 6,000 jobs throughout New Mexico, while maintaining a 97.5 percent repayment rate. Under his leadership of F. Leroy Pacheco, the average loan size has increased from $14,000 to $70,000, and more than 93 percent of the $14 million that has been lent since his arrival has been to minority- and women-owned businesses.

About the Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference:
Recognized as the nation’s premier event for minority entrepreneurs and business owners, the MED Week Conference attracts minority businesses of all sizes from all industry sectors across the country. The conference is co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SAVE THE DATE! Join us for Atlanta Tribune's 25th Anniversary Celebration

 

New Business: The Green Room Lounge Opens in Atlanta

 
Celebrities and community leaders recently attended a private opening soiree for Atlanta's newest concept lounge -- The Green Room Lounge. Nestled in the pockets of Buckhead, The Green Room Lounge takes its inspiration from the iconic LA-based Samuel French theater and film bookshop.

The Green Room is the creative vision of actress, producer and owner Terri J. Vaughn and is co-owned by business manager and attorney Shannon K. Nash, film producer Roger Bobb (BobbCat Films) and retired NBA Player, Adonal Foyle. An actor's haven, The Green Room Lounge will serve as a specialty theatrical bookstore and performance space.

“My goal is to provide a supportive and nurturing community for Atlanta based talent where they can feel a sense of camaraderie that I so deeply fell in love with during my seventeen years living in Hollywood, as well as a haven for out of town actors to unwind while filming in Atlanta. Actors are interesting creatures and we have interesting needs and I plan to serve those needs and more at The Green Room Lounge,” states Terri J. Vaughn.

The Green Room will offer a slate of acting classes for the community taught by some of the most sought after actors and instructors in the business. In addition, there will be acting classes for special needs kids through a partnership with Actors for Autism, as well as a variety of specialized classes related to the business of the entertainment industry.

About the beneficiary organizations: Take Wings Foundation founded by Vaughn supports youth in the San Francisco Bay area, and Colored My Mind improves the lives of children and adults affected by autism and educates the public about autism and related neurological disorders, particularly in the African American and Latino communities. Colored My Mind was founded by actress Tisha Martin-Campbell, music manager Tammy McCrary, educator Donna Hunter, attorney Shannon Nash, and homemaker LaDonna Hughley.

Source: BlackGivesBack.com Press Release/Photo credit: Moses Robinson (OPM Photo)

Wells Fargo & Atlanta Tribune's New SB12 Program

 

Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine and Wells Fargo have embarked upon an exciting partnership — further extending our reach into the community of minority businesses and entrepreneurs we serve. Twelve metro Atlanta ethnic-minority-owned small businesses have been selected to participate in the SB12 — a joint venture sponsored by AT and Wells Fargo — created to offer a dedicated pool of resources to helping each move its business to the next level.

In our 25th year of publishing, we realize that to truly make an impact a varied approach to empowering our readership, beyond the 11 issues we produce and the conferences we hold, is in order. And with Wells Fargo, we intend to do just that.

“This great initiative ties directly into our desire to satisfy all of our small business clients’ financial needs through a world-class customer experience, delivered by trained specialists,” says Sean Mabey, senior vice president and Wells Fargo’s small business director in Atlanta. “We want to provide education and financial advice and to be a trusted advisor, equipped with a variety of tools and services. This collaboration with Atlanta Tribune is right in line with that and we’re very happy to be part of it.”

Over the next 12 months, we will guide the SB12 companies through a small business boot camp with special emphasis and mentoring in the areas of finance, technology and communication, and you’ll have a front row seat through our coverage.  

Stay tuned for their stories, their progress and their rise.