CHICAGO, IL - On Friday, April 10th, just three days after opening their 2009 season with a 4-to-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox hosted approximately thirty members of the Alliance of Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs (ABLE) to a meet-and-greet luncheon held at the U.S. Cellular Field.

ABLE is one of Chicago's leading African American business organizations, and the luncheon represented a propitious start to the new season in terms of Baseball's outreach to the African American community.

Greeting ABLE members were senior leaders of the White Sox organization, including Jerry Reinsdorf, the club’s owner and chairman; Kenny Williams, the most successful general manager in White Sox history; and Mike Spidale, the club's innovative director of purchasing - to name just a few of the Sox executives who were present at the luncheon. 

The event was coordinated by Michelle Flowers-Welch, founder of the Flowers Communications Group (FCG), an integrated marketing communications company. 

The White Sox have retained FCG to assist with efforts to build a broader fan-base among African Americans and Hispanics in the Chicago area.  "This is something we have been planning for about a year," said Flowers-Welch as she talked with diversityinbusiness.com about the luncheon.  "We look forward to ABLE members gaining opportunities to grow with the White Sox," she continued.

After initial introductions, ABLE members focused on a series of presentations made by White Sox executives.  Scott Reifert, vice president of communications for the White Sox, began by telling the gathering that the "Southsiders" have one of the highest percentages of minority fans in Baseball.  He cited a survey taken last year that revealed one-in-four ballpark fans identified themselves as a minority fan.  He then named a series of community-based initiatives undertaken by the White Sox to strengthen the ball club’s ties with African Americans – especially young fans of the game.  While the list of initiatives was impressive, Reifert assured ABLE members that the club's support for diverse suppliers has been proactive for more than a decade.

Club owner Jerry Reinsdorf followed Reifert; and he told ABLE members that the White Sox's commitment to supplier diversity began with a simple question that was posed to him in the 1990's regarding minority employment figures in the White Sox organization.  He confessed that he didn't know the the answer at the time, but said the question led to a broader review of minority participation in all aspects of the sport, including the business of Baseball. 

While Reinsdorf played a decisive role in getting the League to consider minority inclusion more comprehensively, Commissioner Bud Selig is credited with the League's adoption of the Diverse Business Partners (DBP) Program in 1998. The program followed Baseball's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into the Major Leagues in 1947. Shortly after the program was launched, Selig's office retained RGMA, Inc. (RGMA), to assist with the program's development and implementation. 

RGMA is a 30 year old  professional services firm specializing in the design and enhancement of supplier diversity programs.  The firm was founded by Ralph Moore,  who is an ABLE member, and widely respected as a subject matter expert. (Note: Dan Perkins, publisher of diversityinbusiness.com, is a strategic partner of RGMA.)

During his remarks, Jerry Reinsdorf acknowledged Moore's contributions to the DBP Program.  He later affirmed his own commitment to utilizing minority businesses that bring value and savings to his organization. 

The job of translating Reinsdorf's commitment into contracts with minority suppliers rests with Mike Spidale, the White Sox's purchasing director.  When Spidale's addressed ABLE members, he began by reading the DBP mission statements of the White Sox and Major League Baseball.  "The first thing Ralph Moore taught me was to establish a mission statement," said Spidale who proceeded to read a list of commodities and services purchased by the White Sox.  He then told his audience that all of the commodities were serviced by African American businesses.  It was compelling evidence of the strength of the commitment that drives the Sox's business diversity efforts.

Spidale concluded his presentation with a story of his efforts last season to develop a start-up African American printer.  The printer was awarded a small contract after seven failed attempts to do business with the ball club.  "We really believe in working with suppliers who have real potential," said Spidale.

What is remarkable about Spidale's account is not only his willingness to work with a start-up company, but the fact that the relationship developed from a referral.  Spidale told ABLE members that he first learned of the start-up company through a conversation with another African American entrepreneur who was not then, and is not now a supplier to the White Sox. 

Spidale's willingness to entertain new supplier relationships and to work with emerging businesses is a rarity in Corporate America, but it is what has enabled the White Sox organization to award some of the its most critical and high-profile contracts to African Americans.  Spidale told ABLE members that African Americans service the club's uniforms, and maintain vital stadium functions including plumbing, electricity and painting.  "All these accounts required some attention at first," said Spidale to diversityinbusiness.com following his presentation, but he eagerly added that those efforts have resulted in some of the club's best supplier relationships. 

Spidale hopes the printing company will have future success bidding on larger contracting opportunities.

While many "Southside" fans began the new season still reveling in the White Sox's 2005 World Series Championship, few know that the club has maintained a championship-level approach to supplier diversity ever since the DBP Program was implemented in 1998.  In these economically challenging times, it is reassuring to see the White Sox continue to open their doors to African American entrepreneurs and to organizations like ABLE.  It is evidence of a strong lineup that gives one hope for a winning new season.   

diversityinbusiness.com is a media partner of Major League Baseball.