Genesee County Regional Chamber of Commerce reaches out
to African-American businesses with new advisory group

By Melissa Burden and Joe Lawlor | The Flint Journal
May 21, 2009

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- The Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce says it wants to hear the concerns of black-owned businesses.

To that end, the GRCC has formed a new African American Advisory Group to see what minority businesses need to succeed.

The new group has about 20 members, mainly small business owners and some non-chamber members. It has been meeting for the past several months and has held two roundtable discussions with business owners.

The GRCC has been reaching out to the black community since October 2007 " ... really to advise us on key issues in the African-American community," said Tim Herman, chief executive officer of the chamber.

The new advisory group will continue to meet monthly and report quarterly to the chamber's operating board, Herman said. The group will help the 950-member chamber draft a strategic plan for 2010.

For years, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce served disadvantaged businesses and aided in minority business development. That chamber merged, along with three other groups, in early 2006 to form the GRCC.

Claude High, who served as chairman of the Metropolitan chamber, is among those who believe the GRCC's work with the black business community lagged after the merger.

"It kind of waned for awhile and it was kind of stagnated for awhile," said High, who sits on the GRCC's strategic board and is chairman of Action Management, an outplacement firm in Flint.

"Now that we've gotten organized and we've gotten new officers, the Genesee Regional Chamber seems like they really want the African American advisory group's input."

Leon Knott, chairman of the advisory group, and Rick Carter, vice chairman, said communicating with black business owners and giving them information will be key.

Some black-owned businesses face barriers such as not knowing how to register to become a government contractor to take advantage of projects funded by federal stimulus money, Knott said.

"They hear that monies are coming to town, but they really haven't done the formal process," said Knott, broker/owner of Genesee Valley Real Estate in Flint Township.

The new advisory group might get some competition if a Flint businessman gets his way.

Nick Singelis said he's trying to start a Flint chamber of commerce because he doesn't believe the GRCC does enough to serve Flint or small businesses and doesn't employ enough minorities in influential positions.

"They are like a fancy restaurant with a great menu, but they don't have a kitchen," said Singelis, 28, who is white. "Flint isn't part of their name, and they don't want to be associated with Flint."

At least two local business people, including Bruce Strange, owner of Bruce's Florist, and Sandy Blackmon of Sandy's Elegant Catering, are interested in helping a new Flint chamber get off the ground.

"I try to be open-minded, but there has never been anybody from the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce who's walked through my door," Blackmon said. "I've gotten some mail, but there's nothing like the personal touch."

Herman declined comment on Singelis' comments about the GRCC.

"Any chamber of commerce can be formed by filing the required paperwork, but we feel we have an organization that can help the entire community, not only large businesses, but small businesses as well as minority-owned businesses," Herman said.

Singelis, who attempted to develop a building downtown but ran into cash-flow problems, said the new chamber he is proposing should be run by a minority and staffed by a majority of blacks. He would seek $250,000 from the City of Flint to help fund the new organization.

Flint City Councilman Delrico Loyd said he doesn't see how the city could free up $250,000 for a start-up chamber.

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