Black Meetings & Tourism, a bi-monthly trade publication that covers the African-American group and leisure travel, incentives and meetings market, was awarded the first annual Small Business of the Year award by the Regional Black Chamber of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley. BM & T;, a publication of Sunglo Enterprises based in Winnetka, was established in 1994 by husband and wife team, Solomon J. and Gloria M. Herbert to service the $40 billion market. Solomon Herbert serves as publisher and editor-in-chief; Gloria Herbert is associate publisher and editor of the publication. The company was selected from a group of four finalists that also included, Rich-Wal Center, a facility for the developmentally handicapped; Soaring Eagle International, a nonprofit organization that provides basketball training and academic support services for children; and See-How Inc., a nonprofit providing construction skills training and job placement for at-risk individuals. The awards were presented at the RBCC’s first annual small business awards dinner at the Venetian Palace in Reseda. Among the guest speakers were Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles District SBA director Alberto G. Alvarado. Speaking to the group assembled, Villaraigosa said that the Valley is “the most diverse part” of Los Angeles, which he noted, has a population comprised of 30 different nationalities who speak 120 different languages. “You should be for diversity, not just because you’re for human rights and civil rights, do it because that’s where the talent is,” Villaraigosa said. The RBCC, based in Encino, was recently reorganized to include the greater San Fernando Valley area from Burbank and Glendale to Woodland Hills and the Santa Clarita Valley, as well as support areas throughout Los Angeles. The group was honored as Chamber of the Year by the California Black Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento in 2004.
