Gala, Gala, Gala. My days and nights have been consumed with preparations for our biggest event of the year and the first one since 2019. As I have said on many occasions, you want to be there and you want to help make it happen. Darci Henderson is our Gala Chair and she can be reached at [email protected] or 206-718-3685.
The Gala line-up of speakers is one of the best we’ve ever had and our honorees are people who have given much to this community and the mission of Tabor 100. Be sure you get your tickets to Tabor 100’s 21st Annual Gala at the HOTEL LOTTE on 5th Avenue (809 5th Ave.). You will not regret it!
The success of our businesses is determined by many things – capital, expertise, knowing the right folks, etc…. Success in doing business with public agencies is also determined based on the “rules” they set for businesses to follow. One of the rules is creation of percentages of minority businesses that must be used on the project. Disparity studies help set those percentages. We want Black and other minority contractors to get as much work as possible so we encourage you in the strongest way to engage in these studies, which usually only take a short period of time to fill out a survey or meet and give your candid feedback. The City of Seattle, WSDOT and, soon, King County, are all conducting disparity studies that will decide how many of us will be under contract with them in the future. The studies are a chance to let government agencies know what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. We have no right to complain if we are not letting the agencies know what we want! Make sure you answer the call to speak up when asked to weigh in on a disparity study.
Lastly, let me give a “shout out” to two loyal Tabor 100 members who have created institutions aimed at creating more opportunity for members of our community. Lewis Rudd, founder of Ezell’s Chicken and long-time Tabor 100 member, sponsored the inaugural conference for the “Raising Up Black Businesses (R.U.B.B).” initiative last Saturday. We wish him success and welcome another organization focused on Black business prosperity. On the public policy front, former Tabor 100 Board member, Abdul Yusuf, launched the Black Suffrage Network (BSN) last Saturday as well. The organization is poised to engage members of the community in civic engagement and active participation in the public policy space. What he is doing is much needed and we wish Abdul the utmost success in this new endeavor.
