This month, we debut the America's Best Diverse Suppliers^sm (ABDS) Program, an initiative designed to recognize the best diverse suppliers of organizations committed to the advancement of diverse suppliers.  We are pleased to introduce this landmark program in two phases.  Each year, our April edition, will feature the best suppliers of the World Series Champions.  Then, in June, we will debut the best suppliers of all the organizations participating in the ABDS Program, including our lead partners, Major League Baseball and Wal-Mart. 

Our debut of the best suppliers of the World Series Champions, reflects our strong and unique relationship with Major League Baseball, a leader within the field of professional sports. 

This publication was inspired by my personal involvement with the League's efforts to expand procurement opportunities to minority- and women-owned businesses.  From 1998 to 2003, I had the distinct privilege of being part of the consulting team retained by the Commissioner's Office to assist with the design and implementation of MLB's Diverse Business Partners (DBP) Program.  The DBP Program, which is under the leadership of Wendy Lewis, vice president of strategic planning for recruitment and diversity, is embraced by the 30 clubs that make up Major League Baseball (MLB), plus the Commissioner's Office.  No other professional sports league or association has as comprehensive or effective a supplier diversity initiative as MLB.

As a member of the consulting team led by RGMA, Inc., a Chicago-based firm founded by Ralph Moore and specializing in supplier diversity initiatives, I discovered two extraordinary groups: men and women who were committed to creating opportunities that expanded the participation of minorities and women in baseball; and men and women who were uniquely qualified to service those opportunities.  The two groups inspired me to create and position diversityinbusiness.com as a site for and about emerging communities, and the entities that support their development. 

While there are other print and electronic publications that do an outstanding job covering the supplier diversity community, we seek to distinguish ourselves by focusing on the sometimes direct, and often indirect, relationships between business and the rest of life - including the arts, politics, education, the sciences, faith and every other measure of human endeavors.  While our focus is decidedly American, we will continue to expand our gaze across the globe.

We also celebrate our own unique role as one of only a handful of sites independently-owned and -operated by African Americans.  We know that our voices remain under-represented in many sectors of our society and world, and that our voices, spoken as African Americans, adds to the diversity within our own community and beyond.

We are delighted to have Wal-Mart and Major League Baseball assist us at this critical point in our development, and we look forward to working with other progressive organizations in the months and years to come.

I invite you to discover the many interesting stories contained in this edition of diversityinbusiness.com and in our archives.  They are the stories of men and women who are seeking to make constructive changes in our nation and world.

This month we look at continuing efforts to increase opportunities  within the advertising industry.  We also explore leadership in Washington, as demonstrated by two lawmakers: one who seeks to broaden the size and number of loans made to small businesses in America - particularly businesses owned and operated by minorities and women; and secondly, a lawmaker who is attempting to convince the current administration to assume a more assertive stance against the killings in Darfur, a region in the West African country of Sudan. 

We also have an exciting news story involving the addition of seasoned leadership at a successful, but emerging entity that we have profiled over the past few years. 

We like to provide continuing coverage of emerging entities.  We believe the extended coverage provides a more complete picture of what it takes to succeed in the real world.  All too many stories are positioned to sustain the myth of instant success.  Success is rarely instantaneous, and when it is, it is rarely sustainable.  We want our readers to appreciate the work and dedication required to build strong, viable entities. 

I hope the stories contained in this month's edition of the site will inspire you to pursue excellence and leadership in all areas of your life.

All the best,

Dan Perkins

Publisher

diversityinbusiness.com