LAS VEGAS | The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, or NGLCC, is celebrating its 15th year of bringing together LGBTQ businesses and professionals together with the 2017 International Business & Leadership Conference in Las Vegas Aug. 1-4.
Founded in 2002, The NGLCC began when Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell realized no one had really considered the economic equality of LGBTQ people or the impact economics could have on the equality movement, according to the NGLCC website.
From those roots, the NGLCC now hosts the world’s largest LGBTQ business development event, attracting more than 200 businesses and over 1,000 entrepreneurs, corporate decision-makers, affiliate chamber leaders, and government officials from across the country and around the world.
The 2017 conference will feature numerous influential keynote speakers from the LGBTQ community including fashion icon and best-selling author Tim Gunn; entrepreneur and LGBT advocate Lisa Vanderpump; and CEO and author of Predictable Success Les McKeown, just to name a few.
“Having our first conference with only 80 people sitting in a conference room to now over 1,000 people in Las Vegas, and to be able to represent 1.4 million LGBT business owners that regenerate $1.7 trillion in economic impact each year is incredible,” says Jonathan Lovitz, NGLCC’s senior vice-president.
While the amount of influence the LGBTQ community has on the economy is a priority to the NGLCC, its highest goal is to maintain the essence of family they have established over the past 15 years.
“Within our community it has never been more important that we stand united,” Lovitz says.
The NGLCC hopes that above all else, conference attendees feel as though they, alongside their LGBTQ brothers and sister, are making a change toward safer and efficient ways to do business.
Both Tampa Bay and Central Florida each have chambers within the NGLCC; the Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce and Orlando’s Metropolitan Business Association (MBA), the latter of which was named the 2017 Chamber of the Year.
“The NGLCC provides so much instruction, training and workshops on important changes that can work for the different chambers,” says Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce treasurer Blaine Larson on the benefit of attending the NGLCC conferences. “You get so much information from other chambers attending; it’s good to hear about the challenges other face around the country.”
Orlando board member Sherri Absher knows the key to keeping the MBA thriving, maintaining relationships and trust between the chamber members.
“We are a very close knit group that have trust with businesses that go past a contract,” Absher says. “We stand up for businesses and their programs, and always want to find a way to better the business. With some chambers you don’t always see that kind of direct relationship.”
It’s those kinds of relationships that led the MBA to be named Chamber of the Year.
“We definitely didn’t expect it, it truly is a great honor,” Absher says. “It makes us set the bar higher and strive to become as unique as possible.”