The 2018 NGLCC Champion of Enterprise Award
What an honor to receive the 2018 NGLCC (National LGBT Chamber of Commerce) Champion of Enterprise Award.
Earlier this month, I was presented the award at the annual NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Philadelphia - this year, entitled “LGBT Unity”. The award recognizes an allied person that has gone the extra mile to support LGBT equality and business opportunity. I was also invited to be the keynote speaker. More than 1300 entrepreneurs, corporate decision-makers, affiliate chamber leaders, and government officials from across the country and around the world attended. The sold-out, three-day conference is the single-largest LGBT event of the year and focuses on innovative leadership programming, networking and engagement opportunities for business professionals.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- The event was held at the Marriot Downtown Hotel in Philadelphia. I loved the views out the window. Here you can see City Hall. At 548-feet, including the statue of city founder William Penn atop its tower, City Hall was the tallest habitable building in the world from 1894 to 1908. In fact, it was the tallest in Philadelphia until 1986 when the construction of One Liberty Place, the building to its left, surpassed it.
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- One Liberty Place is a 61-story, 945-foot skyscraper. Two Liberty Place has 58-stories and is 848-feet tall. The Liberty Place complex was designed by architect Helmut Jahn and his firm Murphy/Jahn. The steel and blue glass skyscrapers were greatly inspired by New York City’s Chrysler Building.
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- At large press-filled events like these, there is always time built in for photos in front of what is called a “step and repeat banner”. Here I am with Justin Nelson, Co-Founder of the NGLCC.
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- And here I am joined by Jonathan Lovitz, SVP of the NGLCC. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- In this photo, I am with NGLCC’s Co-Founders and Board of Directors. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- The event had 250 corporate sponsors. I also posed for additional photos with representatives of the companies that attended. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- The event gathered at least 1300-guests in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom. The conference used two-floors of the hotel for the multiple day conference. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- It was great to see so many enthusiastic entrepreneurs. The conference offered a number of educational programs, inspiring keynote speakers, the annual B2B Boot Camp for LGBT Business Enterprises, a chamber development track, marketplace expo, one-on-one matchmaker meetings, and so much more. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- Members of the hotel staff stopped to pose for this quick photo – everyone had such a good time. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- Large monitors were provided for supplemental videos and a view of the stage. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- Chance Mitchell, Co-Founder of NGLCC made some opening remarks and welcomed everyone to the event.
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- And then Justin and Chance introduced me for the award presentation. Past recipients of the NGLCC Champion of Enterprise Award include music legend Melissa Etheridge, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Actress Judith Light – I was in great company.
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- It was an honor to see audience members stand as I was introduced on stage. The Champion of Enterprise Award is among the highest honors presented by the NGLCC. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- Here I am walking out onto the stage. I have always believed that creativity and entrepreneurship are the keys to business success. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- This photo shows social media at its best – we are now able to share LIVE up-to-the-minute videos with friends and family from anywhere in the world. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- And here I am after accepting the award. I told the audience that “being an ally is an everyday occurrence” and that my company has “been embracing change and inclusiveness for a long time”.
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- Next, I was interviewed by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jonathan Capehart, of NBC News and the Washington Post. We talked about entrepreneurism and about being good role models for business owners and workers. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- The room was completely full – it was a very informative and interesting discussion. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- After my interview, we also raffled off prizes from my collection at Macy’s – I posed for photos with winners that came up to the stage to claim their prizes. (Photo by Rachel Stevenson/OUTCOAST Photography)
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- Here I am with Jonathan after the event. For more information on the annual conference and the NGLCC, please go to their web site. https://www.nglcc.org/
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