On May 12th the IBA hosted the 2014 Business Leaders Luncheon at the Hotel Sofitel Philadelphia. The luncheon, presented by West Laurel Hill Cemetery & Funeral Home, was attended by over 200 members, guests and community leaders, including the Honorable Michael A. Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, State Representatives Mike O’Brien & Brian Sims and Councilman-At-Large James Kenney.
PNC Bank President, Bill Mills long-time Corporate Partner and loyal friend to the IBA, presented the 2014 PNC Bank LGBT Business Award to IBA Members, Roger Harman & Vincent Whittacre of The Gold Standard Café.
One of the many highlights of this year’s luncheon was the announcement by IBA Board President, Rich Horrow, of the newly forged Corporate Partnership between the IBA and Comcast & NBCUniversal. Many representatives of Comcast were present including several members of Comcast’s LGBT ERG—OUT at Comcast, as well as the media mogul’s Vice President for Government Affairs, Klay Fennell who delivered the keynote address.
This was the 4th year for the Business Leaders Luncheon and by far the most well attended and biggest success yet. The theme for this year’s luncheon—Grow Your Business—was carried throughout the event by all who addressed IBA Members and guests that day. It was probably best captured in a statement from Corporate Counsel for Elsevier, Tiffany Davidson, who said at the conclusion of the luncheon, “The message I walked away with from today’s event is, ‘the IBA is an incredibly influential organization that has and can play an instrumental part in helping LGBT professionals and allies in the Greater Philadelphia area grow their businesses.”
A huge thanks goes out to all who made this event possible, in particularly our Corporate Partners, Luncheon Sponsors, Jeffrey Cesari & his amazing team from Shimmer Events, HughE Dillon Photography and all those who helped make the day a true celebration of the achievements of the LGBT Business Community in the Greater Philadelphia Region.