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President Ollie Garrett's Address at the 2008 Unity Gala.
Good Evening, my name is Ollie Garrett and I'm the new President of Tabor 100. On behalf of our officers and members, thank you for coming tonight.
It takes a lot of volunteer hours to make the Gala possible, and I want to thank the Gala Committee again for the very hard work they do to make this event a success.
In particular, I would like to thank Christa Peterson, the new Gala Committee Chair, and Janie Hendrix for their leadership.
I also want to thank our major sponsors, without whom the success of this event is impossible.
Tabor is proud that 83 cents of every dollar raised at the Gala goes to Educational programs and scholarships. And 93 cents of every dollar contributed to us goes toward our programs. Only 7 cents goes toward overhead because our volunteers to do all the work!
We've had several sponsors give large donations to Tabor. For example, our Diamond, Platinum and Gold sponsors have donated funds that allows Tabor 100 to award scholarships at a broader array of community colleges and universities.
These relationships play a big role in Tabor's future strategy and activities.
For example our new relationship with PSE will help us increase awareness within the minority business community about "Green Business" issues and opportunities.
I also would like to thank past presidents L. Dave Tyner, Donald King, Craig Dawson and Leon "Skip" Rowland. Please rise and be recognized? Will you join me in a round of applause?
Now, as the new president of Tabor, a lot of people might be asking, "WHO IS Ollie Garrett?"
Well tonight I would like to introduce myself, and talk about an American dream--mine-and also give you some insight into the direction of Tabor during my leadership.
I was born in New York and raised in Canton, MS.
I left Canton for the big city, and as a single parent moved to Chicago. Just off the Greyhound bus, I became a victim of "Three Card Molly". I remember being sold fake gold chains, and too many other scams to mention-all on the streets of Chicago.
And while there I had to get on Public Assistance.
But looking back on that experience I realize that I was cradled by folks I called, "Angels". I was lucky enough - some might say foolish, others might say naïve - that someone was always there to give me a helping hand, or an arm of protection!
I've been fortunate to have been given opportunities to improve myself and rise.
I left Chicago for Detroit, and it was there I got my first job as a collector at Comp-U- Check, and got off of Public Assistance. By the time I left Comp-u-Check I was Vice President of Financial Recovery, responsible for a staff of 65 and a Half-Billion dollar portfolio of retail and commercial collections.
I was recruited by SCAN, located in Bothell, Washington, one of the largest check verification companies in the country. From there I became President of CCV.
In 2006, I branched out on my own, launching PMT Solutions, a full service receivables management firm in Bellevue.
This is my American dream.
As I've traveled my life's journey, I've been grounded in faith.
I've learned we're all blessed in order to be a blessing to others.
Early in my life I learned about business from my dad. He built homes in Canton, and as I watched how he worked with his business partners, it made a big impression on me.
You see,…I'm from a place where business was done on a handshake, and a person's word was their bond. My Dad had lots of business opportunities, and he shared them all with other business people. His belief was, "shared opportunities create shared benefits," which is the spirit of tonight's theme of "Power through Unifying Communities".
So how will who I am and what we believe as Tabor members effect my term as president of Tabor? Well,…
First and foremost, Tabor 100 will be an organization that is the best example of "Power through Unifying Communities".
We have a strong desire to build relationships with other organizations that share our views on economic development, and we want to build on the areas of balanced common interests.
Partnerships are critical to our success.
Some of these partnerships are:
The Seattle Department of Transportation, led by Grace Crunican as well as Nancy Locke with The Department of Executive Administration, Elaine Ko, Port of Seattle, and Frank Leyritz, Puget Sound Energy, -- who have all worked with us on our "Meet and Greet" business development program. This program has increased revenue opportunities for minority businesses. These opportunities are not just for African-American firms, but for businesses across diverse communities.
Boeing, who provided support for this year's Black History Month celebration;
Rep. Bob Hasegawa, who we would like to thank for his leadership in working with us on the bill to increase the funding limits for the link deposit program from $100 million to $150 million,…
This also ties into a new direction we're supporting within the Urban Enterprise Center, to collaborate on a "multi-cultural marketing and cross-cultural business" philosophy.
As part of this approach, we're also coordinating and unifying our strength by working with and supporting the activities of other business organizations, like the Northwest Minority Business Council, the Hispanic Chamber, the Filipino chamber, and the Urban League's CDCC. In many ways, we have a shared history with these organizations, and it's critical we work together.
We will continue to be deeply committed to educational excellence and look forward to continue our work with organizations like, Thrive by Five, the Business Partnership for Early Learning, Seattle Public Schools, and the Black Education Strategy Roundtable.
Perhaps most importantly, Tabor 100 will be an organization that "WALKS THE TALK". We plan to create an environment high in trust, where all the folks working to promote minority business development here in the Puget Sound Area work together and don't reinvent the wheel.
Within the organization we're going to work hard to increase membership, energize committees, and develop the next generation of business leaders.
Tabor is blessed to have talented, dynamic leaders coming to the foreground and here they are.
Would all the Officers and Board Members please rise.
These folks drive our mission and goals, and they choose the initiatives we work on. Would you please give them a round of applause?
Cos, Crystal, Glenn, Lewis, Christa, Kevin, Marcee, Mark, and William,…thank you for your leadership and your service! And thanks to their families, too! They miss precious family time working on Tabor business. So thank you for sharing them with us! Please be Seated.
Anyone that knows me understands that I have a passion for this organization, a passion for the growth of minority businesses, and a passion for collaboration. There are many of you here who share that passion, and together this will enable us with the Power to Unify our Communities.
In closing, on behalf of the members, officers, and the board, we look forward to working with many of you during this year.
Thank you for your support and sharing this evening with us, and God Bless.