A special acknowledgment and thank you goes to our Gala Chair Christa Peterson, and her committee, Lewis Rudd, Janie Hendrix, Lawrence Bigham, Terry Johnson, Jerome Polite, Terrance Bedford, Demetria Figgs, Kevin Washington and Glenn Gregory. They made Tabor 100 shine!

Last, but not least. Kudos to our many volunteers.

Demetria Figgs
Selam Ghebresilase
Trudi McGhee
Dan Seydel
William Dudley
Sharon Elizabeth
Carolyn Dawson
Sedonia Freeman-Young
Kibibi Monie'
Tony Benson
Linda Baughan
Marques Bailey
Karen Primeau
Yolande Bailey
Kemi Adeyemi
Steven Ssenyonjo
Jimmy Jackson
Robert Blacket
Brandon Benson
Robert Luciano
Amani Harris
Sasha Foxx
Brandon Smith

Puget Sound Energy presents academic scholarship awards to students with green commitment

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Puget Sound Energy announced the creation of a PSE Clean Energy Scholarship Program at the Tabor 100 “9th Annual Captains of Industry Gala” on Saturday, Sept. 13. The $34,000 program funded by the Energy Efficiency Services division of the utility is designed to grant $10,000 awards to three college students to encourage their pursuit of a career in a clean energy field.

“It is absolutely essential to our region’s future to support the new guard of clean energy,” said Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for PSE. “We’re pleased to work with Tabor 100 to provide this opportunity for African American students. Academic scholarships are a natural extension of our investment in efficiency product development and educational programs.”

Scholarship applicants must live in PSE’s service area and pursue an academic course of study that benefits a green economy. The application process will require students to submit an essay that details their commitment to green practices. Recipients will also have the opportunity to apply for a summer internship at PSE designed to help prepare them for a green career.

PSE’s Energy Efficiency Services group has also contributed funding to other educational organizations, including Independent Colleges of Washington and the Environmental Education Association of Washington, and the utility runs in-school education programs in partnership with clean air agencies and educational and environmental organizations throughout the Puget Sound area.

For more information about PSE and its green programs, visit PSE.com.

The Tabor 100 is a Pacific Northwest Association of African-American businesspeople and entrepreneurs. We are committed to facilitating the development of economic power and educational excellence in combination with a passion for social equity. To this end, we will work in concert with various organizations who share our dedication to the enhancement and growth of our community. For more information, visit www.tabor100.org

New Scholarship Connects Tabor 100 to Seattle University Business School

Tabor 100 has established a partnership with PEMCO and Seattle University to provide a scholarship to local African American students enrolling as a freshman in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University.

According to its web site, the Albers School and its undergraduate programs in business were established in 1945. In 1967, in response to a growing demand in the community for well-educated managers, the school began offering the MBA.

The school has grown significantly in the last decade. In addition to its MBA degree, it has added master's degrees in professional accounting, finance, international business and economics as well as joint degrees with the Seattle University School of Law.

The business school proudly offers its students small class sizes, close interaction with faculty and opportunities for experiential learning.

The new PEMCO Tabor 100 Seattle University Business School Scholarship committee will include a representative from Tabor 100 in selecting the recipient, who will be recognized at the annual Tabor 100 Gala.

PEMCO offers auto, home, boat and life insurance policies and has a tradition of supporting college scholarships.

Here are some of the criteria for the scholarship recipient:

The candidate shall be an African American student, enrolling as a freshman in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University.

The candidate should be a graduate of a Seattle – Tacoma area high school.

The candidate shall have a track record of high academic achievement and/or potential.

The candidate should be in clear financial need.

The candidate’s personal history and actions should be consistent with Tabor 100’s mission.

The candidate’s personal history and actions should reflect that he or she has created, or is working to create, something of benefit to the next generation.

The candidate’s personal history and actions should reflect a spirit of generosity.

The candidate’s personal history and actions should show that he or she is helping to build the community.

Tabor Gives College-Bound Student a Boost

There’s nothing quite like a room full of people supporting and celebrating a good cause, and the May 22nd, 2008 Scholarship Awards and Recognition Banquet proved to be yet another in a long line of such events.

Held at the University of Washington’s Don James Event Center, almost 200 people dined, celebrated and recognized a combination of Seattle area high school students, 24 Achiever program volunteers, plus almost 20 corporate and program sponsors. More than a table full of Tabor members attended the affair.

Seven scholarships totaling $12,000 were awarded to students bound for college. Tabor 100 sponsored a $1,000 scholarship in the name of late Seattle area architect Mel Streeter, a Tabor 100 member and past Chair of the Education Committee. This scholarship was won by Ethiopia Berta, who will be graduating from Garfield and is planning to attend the University of Washington in the fall. There, she will study International Relations and Politics, with further plans to pursue a graduate degree at Georgetown University in International Relations / Foreign Affairs. Ethiopia participated in the Black Achievers Program throughout her four years of high school. The other six scholarship recipients were equally as accomplished and will be attending colleges across the country.

The keynote address was given by the President and CEO of Casey Family Programs, William C. Bell. Other dignitaries in the room included State Rep. Eric Pettigrew; Greater Seattle YMCA President & CEO Robert B. Gilbertson; Juvenile Court Judge LeRoy McCullough; and former King County Superior Court Judge Michael Spearman.

Garrett Becomes Tabor's First Woman President

Members named Ollie Garrett to be the next leader of Tabor 100 at the last general membership meeting, making her the first woman to hold the position.

Garrett has already shown leadership while serving as chair of Tabor’s Economic Development Committee and spearheading a series of successful meet-and-greet lunches with the City of Seattle. The meetings have led to contracts for Tabor members and spun off to similar sessions with other agencies, such as the Port of Seattle and Puget Sound Energy.

Garrett is President and CEO of PMT Solutions, a collection agency based in Bellevue.

The May membership meeting also saw the selection of Lewis Rudd as vice president, Angela Tarah as secretary and Glenn Gregory was reelected treasurer. All officers will serve two-year terms that will end in May 2010. The installation of officers will take place at the June 28 general membership meeting.

"I am honored to be given this opportunity to serve as president of Tabor 100 and to work with our board and our members on our mission to bring educational excellence, social equity and economic empowerment to the people of our region," Garrett said. "I will be standing on the shoulders of past presidents who have done an incredible job and brought our organization forward.

"During my term as president, I will work even harder to see more of us making profitable business connections. Let’s do business among ourselves and let’s help each other grow in the larger community," she said.

She sees her first 100 days in office as a critical period to start the process of building relationships with other organizations that share similar goals and objectives. In Garrett’s view, "Understanding and sharing agendas among the minority economic development organizations around the region will help us better coordinate our activities and advocacy."

Garrett will seek to fill the following committee chairs: Communications & Technology, the ad hoc International Affairs Committee, Gala and Economic Development.

She also wants to update the names of the committees to better reflect their purpose. For example, "ComTech" might better be called "Public Affairs," and "Business and Legislative" might better be termed "Legislative Affairs." Rather than an ad hoc Fund Development Committee, she envisions an ad hoc "Finance Committee" that is led by the treasurer.

Garrett plans to make accessibility one of her hallmarks, and has set up an e-mail address members can use to reach her: president@tabor100.org.

"I’m very interested in positioning more of our younger members and women members into leadership roles to build our bench strength," said Garrett. "It’s important that we get our members prepared to take on key positions. "

"I look forward to presenting the full plan for moving forward to the membership at the June meeting."

History in the Making Tabor Members Play Major Roles in Museum & Housing at Colman

In March the Urban League Village at Colman School held a triumphant grand opening, a vision 25 years in the making and an achievement in community mobilization.

The Urban League Village is comprised of 36 units of mixed-income housing, along with a Museum, housed together within the historic Colman School building, constructed in 1909 and used as a school for African American girls.

The 19,000-square-foot Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) will be a permanent regional institution dedicated to documenting and exhibiting the unique historical and cultural experience of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest.

This project became a reality because of the dedicated hard work and commitment of a community of designers, residents, activists, businesses, not-for-profits, artists, funders, politicians and investors.

Like the bricks and mortar that imbue this structure with its strength and distinction, the membership of Tabor 100 is an integral part of its current incarnation.

in 2001 the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) took on the project with the purchase of the building and has since developed the project to completion under the unwavering leadership of Tabor member James Kelly, President and CEO of the ULMS.

Seattle architectural firm DKA designed the museum and housing units. DKA President and CEO Donald King is a founding member of Tabor 100. The job was entrusted to Rico Quirindongo, a project manager at DKA and past board member of Tabor's.

The floor plan includes three principal galleries: The Journey Gallery, the Northwest Gallery and the Legacy Gallery. Long-term exhibits in the Journey Gallery will share the story of African Americans pioneers arriving in the Northwest to build lives and communities. The Museum's largest gallery, the Northwest Gallery, will house exhibits geared to the rich history of African American experiences in the Northwest. The Legacy Gallery, a multi-purpose space, will host events, exhibits, performances and lectures of importance to the Museum's mission to be a gathering place for youth, adults and families.

Also on the team was Leajak Construction, which is owned by Tabor member Fred Anderson. The firm handled museum tenant improvements.

The continued success of the project will be left in the capable hands of Tabor member Carver Gayton, who will serve as museum director.

Gala Volunteer Adds Energy to Tabor's Signature Event

Christa Peterson is among Tabor's youngest members, but she is already making tremendous contributions to the success of our organization.

Peterson has been an active member of the Gala Committee for four years, working alongside Chairman Lewis Rudd to help put together the annual event, which has greatly increased in attendance and prominence in the Seattle business community.

"In the beginning it felt like a job, but the people I work with are so amazing and so bright and so talented it's great," Peterson said. "Working with Lewis, Terry Johnson, Kevin Washington, Janie Hendrix and Lawrence Bigham, when you bring these people together a lot can get done. Now when I go to the meetings I laugh a ton. I enjoy being around people who are intelligent and motivating. I think I've grown a lot as a person from this experience."

Peterson's real day-to-day job is handling sales and marketing for Mechanical Sales, a Seattle firm that represents commercial and residential heating equipment manufacturers. A lot of her work involves building and maintaining business-to-business client relationships.

"It can be somewhat stressful but it can be rewarding, too," she said. "We have more than 30 product lines, so it's a challenge to keep up with the product knowledge sometimes. But it's all about delivering good customer service."

Peterson is a proud alum of the University of Washington business school and recently accepted an opportunity to give back to her alma mater. At the school's 6th Annual Celebration of African American Business Achievement, Peterson introduced each of the panelists. The event recognized achievements of African American alumni under the theme innovation and trendsetters. Among the panelists were Sir Mix-a-lot and Craig Dawson, a Tabor 100 past-president.

During the event she had an opportunity to tell the attendees about Tabor 100 and describe its goals and achievements. It's the same thing she does on a personal level with friends and recent graduates, something she would like to see Tabor do more often.

"People don't understand what Tabor is, and when I explain it they're amazed," she said. "I joined for the brotherly love and the fact that the people in the organization are positive and like-minded and they're interested in promoting minority businesses."

She's such an enthusiastic supporter, she plans to bring two guests to the next general membership meeting. "I just want to say thanks to Tabor 100 for giving me the opportunity to learn."

Meet-and-Greets Connect Members to Public Officials and Contract Opportunities

Since the Tabor Meet-and-Greets began in September 2007, about 20 firms have participated and so far 18 have earned contracts or purchase orders.

Coordinated by Economic Development Committee Chairwoman Ollie Garrett, president of PMT Solutions, the format connects minority-owned businesses with buyers and managers at the City of Seattle and other public sector agencies.

This successful program has mushroomed into the inclusion of private sector companies and more government agencies interested in hosting similar sessions at their sites and who come to learn about how this process works. Representatives from Safeco Insurance, Puget Sound Energy, King County and Seattle Public Schools were present at the February Meet-and-Greet. The Port of Seattle and Seattle Community Colleges are working with Garrett to schedule Tabor sessions in the near future.

"In this unprecedented time of access and opportunity, it is so important for businesses of color to join forces and move deliberately together," said Angela Tarah, a member of the Economic Development Committee.

To that end, the Economic Development Committee is reaching out to other ethnic groups and business associations to participate, which maximizes potential business networking for all involved.

"If there is a member of Tabor who has not yet taken advantage of these sessions and is looking to expand their business profile, these Meet-and-Greets are without a doubt the place to be," Garrett says. "These buyers want very much to meet new business owners and Tabor needs to show a consistently strong turn-out if we want this opportunity to continue."

Continuous growth and development of the process is manifested in the approach that Puget Sound Energy is taking to prepare for a similar event at their offices in Bellevue.

These achievements and progress highlight what is possible when we move forward with purpose and vision, whether it is the vision of a single person or a group. Ollie Garrett and the Economic Development Committee are showing us the way.

"This was an excellent chance to meet decisionmakers at the City of Seattle, King County, Puget Sound Energy, Seattle Public Schools, and more. Great job, Ollie Garrett, and a special thanks to Skip Rowland …for all their work and care, and to the City of Seattle for hosting the event. JTS Manage Services appreciates your efforts and our opportunity to present our story."