The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's® (NGLCC) kick-off and planning reception for the 2010 National Business and Leadership Conference was an exciting start to the upcoming festivities this November.
Held at the brand new The District Line Restaurant & Bar at the Washington Hilton in D.C. on April 28, the reception served as an opportunity for attendees to celebrate the LGBT business community while learning how they can be part of the three-day conference event this Nov. 18-20.
Kate Karasmeighan, NGLCC chief of staff and director of affiliate relations, and Mark Guenther, executive director of this year's host affiliate chamber, the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed reception attendees. NGLCC co-founder and president, Justin Nelson, encouraged the crowd to get actively involved in the planning of the conference and to be sure to attend.
"There are literally tens of millions of dollars being spent by top corporations with NGLCC-certified companies," Nelson said. "This is your opportunity to meet and connect with decision makers from over 115 top corporations looking to grow that number."
Attendees later heard from one of the LGBT community's strongest allies in Congress, Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. Holt told the crowd how happy he was that the event would be in Washington, D.C. and that he and his office looked forward to being engaged in the conference. He also shared the status of several pieces of LGBT-related legislation now before Congress, including the likelihood of the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the repeal of the Pentagon's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.
"The kick-off reception really set the tone for this year's National Business and Leadership Conference and National Dinner," said NGLCC director of meetings and special events, Rick Fowler. "We anticipate a great turnout for the conference, and the kick-off reception was a great indication of the success of these upcoming events."
This year's Out for Business! conference will be part of a three-day event combined with the NGLCC's 2010 National Dinner: An Evening of Courage.
The NGLCC decided to combine the conference and dinner to make attending the two events more cost-effective for attendees and sponsors.
"While we are encouraged to see the economy moving in the right direction, it made sense for us to minimize the costs of traveling to two separate events this year," said Fowler.
In addition, Washington, D.C. was chosen as the event location to tap into the great resources the city has to offer, and for its proximity to the White House and Congress. Attendees will hear from public officials and other speakers with a wealth of political and business insight.
"We are looking forward to offering our members and partners the opportunity to attend these events together," said Chance Mitchell, CEO and co-founder of the NGLCC. "By combining the two, we're hoping that LGBT business owners, affiliate chambers and corporate partners can take full advantage of the programming we have at our conference, and then join us in celebrating the year's accomplishments at the National Dinner-all designed to be cost effective as we collectively work to get the economy back on track."
At the three-day conference, which will be held at the Capital Hilton in downtown Washington, D.C., attendees will enjoy robust programming designed to connect LGBT and allied business owners and entrepreneurs, NGLCC affiliate chambers and representatives from the NGLCC's more than 100 corporate partners with one another.
The NGLCC is scheduling exciting business symposia, engaging keynote speakers, in-depth panel discussions and special events designed to educate and meet the needs of all of the attendees. Invited speakers include: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.; and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo.
This year, the NGLCC is expanding the conference's offerings by allowing its members and allies to submit proposals for conference seminars. Out for Business! will feature three presentation tracks aligned to the audiences attending the conference, and presenters are asked to identify the track that best fits their proposed presentation topic. The tracks include programs for corporate leaders and representatives, business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as LGBT chambers and business organization leaders. For more information on becoming a presenter at this year's conference and submitting a presentation proposal, download the Call for Presenters form.
To recognize and celebrate courageous women and men in business, government and community activism, the National Dinner: An Evening of Courage will once again be held in the Great Hall of the National Building Museum.
Guests will mingle and network at the Founders & Friends Reception and Silent Auction prior to the start of the dinner program. The awards to be presented that evening include the NGLCC/American Airlines ExtrAA Mile Award, Chamber of the Year Award, Courage in Business Award, Corporation of the Year Award, Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year Award and the NGLCC/Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award.
For more information about the combined Conference and National Dinner, visit www.nglcc.org/DC2010. In the coming months, the page will be updated with the latest details about registration, speakers, agenda and more. If you have questions about the event in the meantime, contact the NGLCC events department at 202-234-9181 or events@nglcc.org.
