The Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce recently held its third annual Business Summit in Ontario. Themed: Unity in Diversity Business Summit, the event featured presentations by a number of corporate sponsors as well as a number of government agencies that touched on the topic of supplier diversity.

The three-day business summit provided excellent networking opportunities. The summit also included workshops, seminars and expert instructions on how to become certified to do business with the federal government, state agencies and utility companies. Other important topics covered included the importance of AI in business operations, tax and accounting tips, along with an impactful panel discussion about the importance of Black media. The panel discussion included Brian Townsend, Publisher of the Precinct Reporter Group (celebrating 60 years of publishing community news; Wallace Allen, Publisher of the Westside Story; and Craig Stover of Network Utopia, which  provides streaming platforms.

Danetta Johnson, Program Manager with the Department of General Services, covered the process on becoming certified to be a vendor for the State and to compete in the RFP process. Alexus Russell, Supplier Diversity Program Manager with American Water provided a wealth of information that most small businesses weren’t aware of. Russell did a deep dive on the opportunities and process of doing business with not just American Water, but with water companies in general. Chante Earl did a presentation on AI, and why it’s important for small businesses and minority owned business to become educated in AI. His presentation included cost saving and time saving tips that are beneficial to small business owners. The California Public Utilities Commission was also in attendance and discussed the Clearing House certification process. Holley Joy, Supplier Diversity Manager with Liberty Utilities talked about the millions of dollars that are available to small businesses and minority owned businesses. Joy stressed the importance of being certified and prepared to do businesses with State agencies and utility companies. She talked about the different workshops and events that are available for small business to meet with the different companies including Southern California Edition, SoCal Gas, Liberty Utilities and the different water companies.

Rich Wallace, President of the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce and his team did an excellent job bringing in groups that  provided much needed information. Wallace was very intentional on making sure that Black business owners in attendance would receive knowledge and information that would help them grow their businesses.

The business summit ended with an elegant gala dinner that included a keynote address by actor/filmmaker Brian Hooks who has appeared in a number of big screen productions and television shows. Hooks, who considers himself an entrepreneur as well, talked about why it’s important  to be resourceful in the entertainment industry. He discussed some of the independent projects he’s involved with, and why they are so important to him. He touched on the joy of working on smaller projects opposed to big budget projects. He also touched on how to invest in independent projects. After his presentation, he participated in a brief Q&A with the audience. The event concluded with an awards presentation. Entertainment was provided by musician Jeff The Great and singer Lue Dowdy of Lue Productions.