Dallas Voice becomes just the third newspaper to receive LGBT Business Certification by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
CERT GRANTED | Dallas Voice Publisher Leo Cusimano, left, and North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce CEO Tony Vedda at the Legacy of Love monument. The chamber is donating $1,000 towards maintenance. (Dallas Voice/David Taffet)
North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Vedda is receiving his Certified Chamber Executive credential this week and Dallas Voice became an LGBT Certified Business Enterprise, a program Vedda has promoted to local chamber members.
For Vedda, the process to earn his certification took about a year. After submitting quite a bit of information about himself and the North Texas GLBT Chamber, he had essays to write, a presentation to deliver, books to read and finally a four-hour exam to pass.
Of the 16 people who began with Vedda, 12 made it through the process. About 500 people have earned CCE certification over the years, but less than 300 are currently working at chambers of commerce around the country.
Vedda is the first executive of an LGBT chamber to earn the certification.
While the certification puts him in a small group of chamber executives across the country and qualifies him to work as an executive with the largest and most prestigious business organizations, Vedda said he has no plans to leave.
“We have lots of work ahead of us in the LGBT community,” he said, calling his work with the GLBT Chamber “personally meaningful.”
National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Vice President Sam McClure called Vedda “one of the most respected chamber executives” she works with. She said he’s been relentless in pursuit of education.
“Tony’s a pioneer in the LGBT business community because he has a seat at every table,” she said.
Among the standards Vedda has brought to his chamber businesses is obtaining LGBT business certification.
For Dallas Voice Publisher Leo Cusimano, obtaining LGBT business certification was important. Just two other newspapers — Washington Blade and Bay Area Reporter — have that certification.
Cusimano explained that if a drug company is looking to spend advertising money in diverse publications and it needs to decide on a limited number of LGBT papers, it would be more likely to place those ads in the papers that are certified.
Certification is a complicated process, McClure said. A company must prove it is 51 percent LGBT-owned, -operated and -controlled.
“The process is rigorous,” McClure said.
Cusimano said Dallas Voice President Terry Thompson had a marriage license to prove he’s a member of the community, but Cusimano isn’t legally married. He has adopted two sons with his partner, however. The second-parent adoption proved his community status.
Then the company must provide a long list of supporting documentation, including any business licenses, tax returns, a list of employees with length of service and other information about the business. Finally, a site visit by Vedda or one of his board members is necessary before the application goes to the national chamber for approval.
As companies are navigating opportunities to intentionally include under-utilized businesses, contracting with LGBT-certified businesses ensures their supplier diversity, McClure said.
“The federal government recognizes race, gender and veteran status,” Cusimano said.
He said the goal is for the federal government to recognize the national chamber’s program. While some companies already look for the LGBT certification for their diversity spending to attract an LGBT clientele, many more will do so once the program is federally recognized.
Vedda sees this as one of the exciting opportunities for him to work with his chamber’s members to develop new business.
“We have lots of opportunities ahead of us,” he said.
He said in Dallas County alone, it’s estimated there are about 3,500 LGBT-owned businesses and the North Texas GLBT Chamber only has about 350 members from throughout North Texas.
Another thing keeping Vedda at the local chamber is the opportunity to help his community. After a vandal recently painted graffiti on the Legacy of Love monument at the corner of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue, the chamber pledged $1,000 to help with the professional cleanup needed by the Oak Lawn Committee that maintains the landmark.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 8, 2014.