August 20, 2007

Black Chamber of Commerce uses history to help it move forward
"It's capturing, making and sharing history in a positive light," chamber president says.
By JAN NORMAN
The Orange County Register

In 1998, Bobby McDonald, president of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Orange County, sought a way to differentiate the group's annual awards event from every other rubber-chicken business banquet in the county.

He hit on the idea of black history, even though the banquet wasn't held during February, which has been Black History Month since 1976.

"It's capturing, making and sharing history in a positive light," he explained recently.

He started with the Negro Leagues that thrived from 1859 until Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. Reminders of America's pastime and great-in-any-league players like Robinson and Satchel Paige hit the right tone for a sold-out, multi-ethnic crowd.

Through the years, McDonald has capitalized on other aspects of black history:

* Buffalo Soldiers, the 10th Cavalry Regiment founded in 1866 as the first peacetime all-black regiment of the U.S. Army.
* Tuskegee Airmen, officially the 332nd fighter group of the U.S. Army Air Corps., who flew with distinction during World War II.
* Athletes from track legend Jesse Owens to figure skater Debi Thomas
* Musicians under the theme "Cotton Club West"
* The connection between the histories of blacks and Hispanics
* Scientists and inventors including Elijah McCoy with 67 inventions and agricultural chemist George Washington Carver.

In 2003, just months before the banquet was to highlight African-American aviators with astronaut Michael Anderson as its keynote speaker, he died in the shuttle Columbia explosion. McDonald turned the event into a celebratory memorial to black aviators who had given their lives in the line of duty.

These entertaining themes have turned the annual banquet into a sold-out affair with more than 700 people in attendance. This year's event is Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Along the way, the Black Chamber was able to leverage the banquet to attract mentors for African-American high school and college students and raise money for scholarships through the Chamber's Bricks & Bridges program.

This year's banquet theme is education: "Reading, Writing & Recording… of Our History."

"People are always asking me, 'Where do you learn this stuff?' This gives us the opportunity this year to highlight where knowledge comes from," McDonald said.

Among the honorees will be the California Librarians Black Caucus – "You didn't know we had one, did you?" McDonald said – California State Librarian Susan Hildreth, Cal State Fullerton in its 50th anniversary year, and the City of Anaheim celebrating its 150th year.

The event also honors two local business owners who know from personal experience the value of formal and on-the-job education.

CEDRIC FERRELL: BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR

From an early age, Cedric Ferrell thought his future had to be built on education.

"I have a very strong opinion that goes all the way back … to parochial school in Indiana," he said. "I got a very good, quality education, small classrooms."

Then he earned a business degree at Purdue University and an MBA at Southern Methodist University.

"The value is more than what you get in the classroom," Ferrell said. "In college I learned independence, getting along with people I would never meet anywhere else, self-discipline. It's more than book learning, though there's huge value in that, too.''

After more than 20 years of management experience at Pillsbury, PepsiCo, Masterfoods and Towne AllPoints Communications in Santa Ana, Ferrell bought several Entrepreneur Source franchise territories.

He now helps others determine if franchising is right for them and if so, which franchise to buy.

"I encounter people who have a thirst for learning and finding out more about themselves," he said. "If you don't embrace learning, you won't keep up.

"I'd like to see a greater thirst for learning in the world today," he added.

MIKE ADAMS: THE MICHAEL R. JONES BUSINESS IMPACT AWARD

Mike Adams has a business degree and purchasing management certificate from Fullerton College.

But as owner of Orange County Printing Consultants in Anaheim for 20 years, he has learned a great deal about on-the-job education as well.

"If you have developed good people skills, that's going to be an asset in business," he said. "Business is really relationships. My business has been built on relationships."

Adams was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a doctor who treated all kinds of people and put his son into multi-cultural situations from an early age.

"To relate to people, I had to listen," Adams said.

Adams was chairman of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest business groups in Orange County, in 2005-06. But his resume has an eclectic mix of volunteer experience, from the steering committee for the Women in Business Alliance to the Asian Business Association of Orange County.

"Today, if you're going to do business in a global economy, you have to be aware of what people think. And that ties back into listening," Adams said.

ABOUT THE EVENT

WHAT: O.C. Black Chamber 16th annual Awards Banquet
DATE: Aug. 25
WHERE: Anaheim Convention Center
THEME: Reading, Writing, and Recording … of Our History
PRICE: $200
EXTRA: Guests are required to bring a black history book to be donated to public schools in Orange County
MORE INFO: Call the Black Chamber office at 714-547-2646 or go online to www.banquet-ocblackchamber.com.