Orlando – LGBT leaders across Central Florida are now armed with valuable insight and community support after the Metropolitan Business Association’s “Synergy of Equality” at Orlando City Hall.
The MBA partnered with Out and Equal and City of Orlando to present the supplier diversity discussion which featured a keynote address by Jonathan D. Lovtiz, Vice President of External Affairs for the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, followed by a panel Q & A.
In an email previous to the March 17 event, Mayor Buddy Dyer told Watermark his office is proud to support LGBT entrepreneurs.
“Organizations like MBA Orlando further Orlando’s reputation as a welcoming and multicultural city that people from across the country and globe want to call home,” Dyer says.
Orlando is hailed as a major hub for inclusivity and diversity in business, according to Lovitz.
“The city of Orlando spent $11 million on contract with minorities,” he said during his address.
To illustrate the need for equality, Lovitz asked the audience of about 50 to participate in an exercise where six were given a character from a minority group and placed at different distances from a contract-seeker depending on their perceived level of discrimination.
“Our job is not done until everyone is at the front line,” Lovitz said.
The panelists talked about NGLCC certification and why it’s important.
“Once you have that certification, it tells us you are a committed business partner,” said Marisol Romany, Supplier Diversity Coordinator for Orlando Health.
“We build great relationships at the national level, but the relationships we build locally are where opportunity starts,” added Dawn Kalilo, co-owner of Bowled Over Promotions.
An audience member asked why owners should promote the use of gay businesses.
“We believe in giving back to the communities in which we live, work, and operate,” said José Nido, Vice President of Supplier Diversity for Wyndham Worldwide.
Kalilo underscored the importance of fraternity in LGBT business.
“We were denied by a supplier in Utah because we were contributing to a ‘negative aspect of society.’ We were able to contact the NGLCC and they did a great job of approaching the Fortune 500 they were working with. The company is now a corporate partner of the NGLCC,” she said.
Vhe Frazier, a salon worker at San Filippo in the Ivanhoe village, says she learned a lot about the challenges LGBT business people face in the “world of bidding and needing to be heard.”
