Author Archives: Georgia Business Council

Black History Month has long served as a time to reflect on the courage, sacrifice, and leadership that shaped our nation. In Georgia, that history is inseparable from economic progress. While marches and legislation reshaped the social and political landscape, another transformation was unfolding quietly but powerfully: Black entrepreneurs were building institutions, creating jobs, and […]

Black History Month is often framed through culture, leadership, and social progress. In the business community, it also provides a practical opportunity to examine economic participation, small business growth, and market access. For Georgia’s economy, the conversation is not only about recognition. It is about expansion of opportunity through enterprise. Small businesses remain one of […]

As Georgia’s business community observes Black History Month, reflection turns to progress, legacy, and leadership. For business and civic leaders, reflection should also include measurable outcomes in economic participation and opportunity. That requires clarity about the difference between internal workforce access and opportunity practices and marketplace strategies such as supplier development and small business inclusion […]

By Stacey Key, CEO & President, Georgia Business Council As we commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded that his vision extended far beyond civil rights. It encompassed economic justice, equity, and opportunity for all. Honoring that vision means continuing the work of removing barriers that prevent full […]

As we close the books on 2025, the economic outlook for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) is equal parts promising and precarious. The newly released State of Minority Business Report by the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) offers a comprehensive and sobering look at where we stand as a business community, as a state, and […]

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) will close its milestone 50th anniversary year with its 2025 Annual Meeting & Year in Review on Thursday, December 11, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The event will bring together corporate leaders, small businesses, community partners, and long-time supporters […]

For 50 years, the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) and its nonprofit partner, the Georgia Education Foundation (GEF), have stood beside small business owners across the state, helping them find opportunity, build connections, and strengthen their communities. Behind every contract, every partnership, and every milestone is an entrepreneur working tirelessly to build something meaningful. […]

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) marked a major milestone Friday evening, celebrating its 50th anniversary during the annual Spirit of Alliance Awards at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The event honored companies and individuals who are advancing supplier inclusion and helping shape Georgia’s economy. “For fifty years, GMSDC has turned supplier inclusion into results […]

Rodney K. Strong has spent more than four decades shaping how public agencies and private companies open doors for small and minority-owned businesses. This fall, the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) will honor him with its Blue Legend Award on September 19, 2025, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, recognizing a lifetime of work that […]

The Month of May is designated National Small Business Month across the nation. It is well documented how significant small businesses are to the overall economic health and well-being of any community, and the outsized impact they have on the global economy. In markets around the world, employers of just a handful of people are […]

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC), which has been serving Georgia’s business community for five decades, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2025. What originated as a supplier diversity initiative to give Atlanta’s minority business community a legitimate seat at the table in corporate supply chains, has evolved into so much more over the […]

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) is celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2025…50 years of facilitating business partnerships and stimulating the economy of the Great State of Georgia. What began in 1975 as the Atlanta Regional Minority Purchasing Council – the brainchild of a bold handful of Georgia corporations who saw economic equity as […]

I recently addressed a room full of business owners and corporate decision-makers at a Welcome to Georgia reception to kick off the national supplier diversity conference in Atlanta. My challenge to the group was a simple question with broad implications for the future. When I first asked, “What Will You Do?”, it was a call […]

2025 marks a historic milestone for The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC), as the state’s leading supplier diversity and small business development organization celebrates its 50th Anniversary. For five decades, the GMSDC has been at the forefront of economic equity, facilitating supply chain partnerships between Georgia’s small and minority businesses and the corporations and […]

The GMSDC welcomed the Supplier Diversity Community to Atlanta for the NMSDC National Conference and Exchange on October 20 – 23. This annual gathering brings together thousands of corporate decision-makers, minority business owners, procurement professionals and industry experts for workshops, keynotes, panels, matchmaking and networking opportunities focused on economic equity. The GMSDC is one of […]

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp recently appointed Maria Guerra-Stoll, the CEO of Atlanta’s GSB Architects and Interiors, to the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Advisory Commission. Guerra-Stoll, also the principal of PAM Studios (Playa Azul Media) in Rome, was a pioneer in the design and implementation of the sound stages, backlots and studios that now […]

One of the hot topics on today’s political landscape is the concept of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, commonly referred to as DEI, an umbrella term for programs and initiatives designed to create opportunities for minorities and other historically disadvantaged segments of the population. For nearly 100 years, civic leaders, elected officials, community leaders, non-profits and […]

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) is proud to announce that the Honorable Roger Bruce will be the 2024 recipient of the Blue Legend Award, the top individual honor at the Council’s annual Spirit of Alliance Awards (SOA). This year’s SOA gala – scheduled for Wednesday, August 28th – will be a luncheon presentation, […]

Each of us is afforded but a few opportunities, over the course of a lifetime, to walk with giants who are among us. For some, that might entail meeting a Hall of Fame athlete, going backstage at a landmark concert event, shaking the hand of an admired political leader or spending time with legendary icons […]