Business Focus
[ Briefs
?
R J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings
appoints new chief financial officer
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings. Inc. has
announced the appointment of Richard H. Bogan as
executive vice president and chief financial officer,
effective July 22. He succeeds Kenneth J. Lapiejko,
who has announced that he will retire on Aug. I
after a 25-year career with RJR.
Andrew J. Schindler, chair
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Reynolds Tobacco Holdings,
said, "We will benefit from
Richard's broad-based experi
ence, financial expertise and
leadership skills. His diverse
management experience
includes information technolo
gy; audit planning, strategy,
and analysis; managing rela
tionships with investors, ana
lysts and bankers; and key
operational leadership roles."
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grateful for Ken Lapiejko's numerous contributions
td our business during his 25-year career with RJR,
and wish hint the best as he retires. Ken's knowl
edge. commitment, dedication and integrity have
been the hallmarks of his career with RJR. Ken has
been a respected member of our team, and we will
all miss him dearly."
Bogan is the former president of northAmerican
Logistics, an operating company of Allied World
wide Inc., the world's largest household
moving/storage van line and high value products
logistics company with operations in the United
States, Canada and Europe. Before that, he was
president and chief financial officer of Unisource
Worldwide Inc.. the leading North American dis
tributor of printing and imaging papers, packaging
and sanitary maintenance equipment and supplies.
Previously. Bogan held a variety of senior manage
" -ment positions during his 20-year career at Philip
Morris Companies Inc.. including: senior vice pres
" irfent - finance, strategy, and information systems
fbr Miller Brewing Company Inc.; vice president -
fin-., ial planning and analysis and information
systems for Philip Morris Companies Inc.; and vice
president - corporate audit for Philip Morris Com
panies Inc.
Bogan
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Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
school bus driver honored
The N.C. Petroleum Marketers Association has
honored Wanda T. Bullins of Kernehsville, a Win
ston-Salem/Forsyth County school bus driver, for
? safe and courteous driving.
Bullins has driven 27 years with the school sys
tem. averaging about 14.000 miles annually. She has
26"safe driving awards and perfect attendance during
her entire career. She has driven both regular and
exceptional children and is very conscientious about
the safety and well-being of her students.
Andy Sayles of Quality Oil Co. in Winston
I Salem presented the plaque on behalf of the associ
\ ation.
The N.C. Petroleum Marketers Association estab
lished this award in each county to bring awareness
and renewed dedication to school bus safety through
out the state. That award was named the Tracy Lea
Calhoun Award in memory of a 17-year-old student
who lost her life when a school bus ran a stop sign.
; She was on her way to a part-time job at an oil com
pany in Raleigh
Jordan named acting chairman
of National Black Chamber
WASHINGTON, IXC. - The National Black
; Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest organi
zation dedicated to black business empowerment,
has announced that respected corporate CEO Fred
erick E. Jordan has been named acting chairman.
President and CEO of F.E. Jordan Associates
I Inc.. an engineering, architectural, environmental
! and construction management firm. Jordan brings
| an extraordinary global vision to the 10-year-old
NBCC. With offices in San Francisco, Oakland and
Baton Rouge. F.E. Jordan Associates has success
fully completed more than 1.000 projects in the
United States as well as in East and West Africa and
Central America.
I Jordan has immense credibility, not only in busi
J ness but in the public and civic sectors as well. Past
J chairman of the San Francisco Bay Area Urban
League, the California Minority and Women Busi
ness Coalition and the San Francisco Black Cham
ber of Commerce. Jordan is the author of more than
30 articles and editorials on affirmative action
! issues. His 1998 book. "The Lynching of the Amer
! ican Dream." is considered to be one of the most
; important and cogent works on the subject in recent
history. He has also served as a San Francisco com
? missioner and as a California state commissioner.
Jordan serves as a development partner on the
ambitious 42-story St. Regis Museum Tower, a
i mixed-use development that will ultimately house a
I 20,000-square-foot African American/African Dias
J pora museum, scheduled to open in 2004.
NBCC President and CEO Harry Alford said the
' NBCC is honored to welcome Jordan to his new
post. "As a businessman, a civic and political
activist, Fred Jordan is among the nation's most
: estimable figures. His experience with global busi
J ness issues, and as a co-founder of BlackCom
; njerceMall.com. makes him uniquely qualified to
* serve as acting chairman of the NBCC.
"Simply put. he is an ideal fit for us at this
moment in our history."
?iZ
Birmingham
company
honors Sept.
11 victim
BY JESSIE J. LEWIS SR
THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A Birming
ham-based Christian candy company is
using its newest product to honor the sac
rifices of an Alabama native killed in the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Scripture Candy, whose products car
rying Bible verses are sold in 40 states
and 13 foreign countries, in mid-July will
release the 9/11 Patriotic Tin, a keepsake
patriotic tin containing sugar-free mints.
A portion of the proceeds will go to a
memorial fund set up for the family of
Army Maj. Dwayne Williams of Jack
sonville, who was killed when a hijacked
plane struck the Pentagon in Washington,
D.C. Williams' brother. Roy, is a reporter
with The Birmingham News.
Scripture Candy owners Brian Adkins
and Michael McCarron said the tin is
their way of honoring those who died.
On the 9/11 Tin's lid is a drawing of
an American
flag over the
words to the
Pledge of Alle
giance. The
pledge is also
on the side of
the tin. along
with the phrase
"one nation
under God"
and words
from Isaiah
40:31, which
begins. "But
they that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
The bottom of the tin has a tribute to
Williams and the other 3,200 victims
killed on Sept. 11 when hijacked planes
crashed into the World Trade Center, the
Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
Adkins said those acts took the nation to
a new level of patriotism and his Christ'
ian candy company feels a duty to take
the country closer to God.
"We're going to use this product to
get this country to rally behind the one
and only true God," Adkins said.
McCarron said the words "under
God" from the Pledge of Allegiance are
featured prominently on the 9/11 Tin.
With the controversial ruling by a Cali
fornia court putting the pledge under
attack, McCarron said it is great timing to
show the nation's patriotism and love of
God.
"It just shows even- more how impor
tant it is to stay under the grace of God as
a people and a nation," McCarron said.
"Our nation was founded under God and
we must not lose focus or we will perish.
Our products show how people can stand
up and be a witness to God."
Scripture Candy has been one of the
big success stories in the Birmingham
Entrepreneurial Center, a downtown
incubator, officials there say. Adkins
started'the company in November 1997
as a one-man operation, selling candy
canes and peppermints in wrappers con
taining Bible verses mainly to a few
dozen Christian bookstores.
McCarron joined the business a year
later, and they began adding new prod
ucts and expanding into other retail out
lets. More than 4,(XK) book, clothing and
drug stores, nail salons and restaurants
carry Scripture Candy goods.
Churches and Christian organizations
sell the products to raise money and
spread the Gospel. Products also are list
ed in Revere, a Montgomery fund-raising
catalog.
"It's a great way to witness as well as
provide a service to customers." McCar
ron said.
Scripture Candy has more than 60
product lines, including tiny mints shaped
like the Christian fish symbol, suckers,
peppermints, chocolates and jelly beans.
It ships about 13,000 pounds of candy a
week from its downtown distribution cen
ter, McCarron said.
The company also has candies with
Scriptures in Spanish. Adkins wouldn't
divulge sales but said the company had
record business last year.
The 9/11 Tin isn't Scripture Candy's
first time reaching out to help those
affected by tragedy. Last September, it
unveiled Faith Pops, a sucker in wrapping
with Bible verses and a tribute to Faith
Bynum. a Dora 9-year-old paralyzed
below the neck in a May 31. 2001. chr
accident. A portion of Faith Pops' sales go
into a special account set up for Faith.
The 9/11 Tin and Faith Pops are part
of Scripture Candy's way of fulfilling its
company motto, "reaching the world one
piece at a time." McCarron said.
To order the tin or Faith Pops, go
online to www.scripturecandy.com.
Williams
The Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel is one of hundreds of hotels worldwide owned by Med
and operated by Marriott.
NAACP: Hotels improved
diversity but still lacking
BY DEBORAH KONG
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON - The NAACP
said some hotel chains are lag
ging behind others in their treat
ment of minorities and urged
consumers to use the group's
hotel report cards in deciding
where to stay.
The report cards, which con
sider employee diversity and
advertising in black-owned
media, among other factors,
assigned grades to 11 national
chains. Marriott received the
highest grade, B, on the 2002
report card; Starwood was the
lowest with a C.
"We're asking people of all
races, who believe in fairness in
this country, who for whatever
reason make a decision to go to
a hotel, to use this report as a
guide," said Kweisi Mfume.
president of the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of
Colored People.
Hotel chains have made
progress in providing business
opportunities to minorities, but
have been slow to increase black
property ownership and adver
tise in black-owned media,
according to the NAACP report,
released at the group's annual
convention recently.
In the last report card, issued
two years ago, the NAACP gave
grades of mostly C's and D's to
the chains.
Donna DeBerry. senior vice
president of diversity at Wynd
ham International, said the
chain's lower grades in the past
- a D in 2000 - "definitely
impacted our business." For
2002, Wyndham received a B
minus.
American blacks spend more
than $35 billion annually on
travel and tourism, according to
the NAACP report.
The NAACP did note some
progress in board appointments,
employment and increased con
tracting opportunities. Hotels,
also have formed diversity
councils and franchise recruit
ment programs, the report said.
But "the ability of African
American and Latino entrepre
neurs in particular to break into
the historically closed-door
society of hotel ownership
remains hampered," Mfume
said. "The hotel industry gener
ates huge revenues," yet those
are "disturbingly being enjoyed
by only a-few."
The grades, which cover
2001 and 2002. are based on the
NAACP's assessment of the
hotels' diversity in hiring prac
tices, vendors, advertising, phi
lanthropy and equity ownership
and franchise opportunities.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide, owner of the Shera
ton and Westin chains, "takes
the NAACP report very serious
ly," said spokeswoman K.C.
Kavanagh. "We're a relatively
new company and are aggres
sively pursuing diversity
issues."
Starwood formed a diversity
council of senior executives and
recently hired a seasoned diver
sity executive, she said.
Grades
Marriott B
Cendant B
Hilton B
Wyndham B
Hyatt B
Choice C+
Omni C+
Radisson C
Best Western C
Six Continents C
Starwood 7 C
Bringing color to your home
Entrepreneur starts
ethnic housewares
business online
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
NEW YORK - Housewares
is a $79 billion a year industry and
minorities buy home furnishings,
appliances and the like at a much
faster rate than white households.
However, ethnic home decor
items remain difficult to find in
traditional retail outlets.
According to the American
Housing Survey, nearly 44 mil
lion home purchases were made
in the 1990s, of which 8 million,
or 19 percent, were by minorities.
In 1991. 54 percent of minority
purchases were by first-time buy
ers. compared with 66 percent in
1999.
As home ownership continues 1
to grow among minorities, the '
market for home decor that
reflects their culture will grow as \
well. However, the products that 1
hold appeal for this diverse cus- t
tomer base are still mostly found r
in small specialty or outlet stores, s
"I wanted a nice, colorful 1
throw." says Yuwanda Black of i
the online start-up EthnicHome- 1
Decor.com. "I went to several t
home decorating stores and could
find nothing that appealed to my I
sense of color, culture, style, s
Finally 1 gave up. went to an r
African fabric store, selected fab- i
rics and made my own." t
Black is owner of the online c
start-up EthnicHomeDecor.com. c
Ethnic Home Decor offers soft i
home furnishings with ethnic
themes at reasonable prices. e
Frustrated at trying to find r
vhat she thought were simple
tome decor items with ethnic
hemes. Yuwanda started Eth
ticHomeDecor.com. "I rea
oned that if I was having a
lard time trying to find these
terns, others were as well. So.
leing an entrepreneur. I saw
his as a major opportunity."
Results from the U.S. Census
bureau's Census 2000 report
;how that the nation's combined
ninority could eventually become
ts majority. As we move toward
his more diverse culture, many
rompanies are taking steps now to
rapture their share of this emerg
ng and profitable consumer base.
In order to capture this audi
?nce. more companies need to
ealize that they must first market
directly to these consumers. Tra
ditionally having been excluded
from the majority of society,
many minorities feel as if their
wants, needs, and tastes are unim
portant. Initially, the music indus
try made the same error with rap
and hip-hop music. Now. it is the
most popular form of music
among American youths, of all
races.
Black said. "One day. I hope
to be able to find pillows made of
vivid African print fabrics as easi
ly a I find floral-patterned pillows.
What's ironic to me is retailers
don't realize that these items have
mass appeal. I have friends from
many different races, and (hey arc
as likely to buy a mud-cloth pil
low as 1 am."
Chair jackets like this one are among the many products
available through the company's Web site.
5