Business Focus
Briefs
Commission appoints new member
The Greater Winston-Salem Sports Commission has
appointed Edward V. Zotian as a member of the com
mission. Zotian becomes one of only three commission
appointees.
The recommendation and appointment were
announced at the Sports Commission meeting July 10.
Zotian is an attorney and member of the law firm
Maready-Zotian, PLLC in Winston-Salem.
"We are pleased to strengthen the Greater Winston
Salem Sports Commission with Edward Zotian," noted
Mark Doughton, commission chairman. "Edward's
comprehensive understanding of what the commission
does will greatly benefit us."
Zotian received B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the
University of Connecticut and a J.D. degree from Wake
Forest University School of Law.
Wo livoc in fMpmmnns.
Lincoln signs Magic Johnson
to multiyear endorsement deal
DEARBORN, Mich. (API - Earvin "Magic" John
son, former Michigan State star and professional bas
ketball great, has agreed to a multiyear endorsement
deal with Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln Mercury division,
company officials said.
Lincoln Mercury turned to Johnson in an attempt to
project a more youthful and energetic image. The two
automotive Dranus nave seen
falling sales and financial losses
in recent years while struggling to
attract younger buyers.
Ford described the deal as a
"multidimensional marketing
relationship" that will include tel
evision and print advertisements
along with cross-promotions.
Johnson, a Lansing native,
was one of the sports world's
most prolific celebrity endorsers
before he announced in 1991 that
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was retiring from professional basketball.
Johnson, 43, has rebounded, though, becoming a
successful entrepreneur of movie theaters, shopping
malls, restaurants and health clubs.
"Magic is a very credible spokesperson." said Jim
Sanfilippo. a vice president with AMCI, an automotive
marketing firm in Detroit. "He has overcome personal
adversity, and he is quite a successful businessman."
Johnson could help attract younger buyers to the
Lincoln Mercury brands. The average age of a Lincoln
buyer is over 60, and the brand hopes to draw more baby
boomers in their 40s and 50s.
Johnson played two years for Michigan State, lead
ing the Spartans to the national championship in 1979.
He helped win five championships in 13 seasons with
the Los Angeles Lakers and was named one of the 50
greatest players in NBA history in 19%.
Johnson
Bank gives $1 million to NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People announced last week a $1 million
contribution from Wachovia Corp. A substantial por
tion of the contribution is designated to support the
organization's educational initiatives.
Wachovia was recognized in 2002 as the recipi
ent of the N"AACP's Daisy Bates Educational Advo
cacy Award for Corporate Leadership.
The NAACP's National Call for Action in Edu
cation requested that governors and state education
agencies develop a five-year Education Equity Plan
to reduce the education-related racial disparities by
at least 50 percent by 2006.
Currently, 47 states have responded to the
NAACP's call.
The NAACP Brown v. Board Equity Commis
sion, launched in 2003. includes representatives
from more than 50 national civil rights, social, pro
fessional. collegiate, research, corporate and philan
thropic organizations. The Brown Equity Commis
sion is charged with assessing and reporting on
progress toward the fulfillment of the Supreme
Court's goal of equity in education as set forth in the
Brown decision. O
Griffis opens law office
John W. Griffis Jr. has opened a business law
office in downtown Winston-Salem after living and
practicing corporate and commercial law in New
York, London and Saudi Arabia for many years.
flriffic' r?rar*tir**? ic i/vq 1 <ir?H
international-, in ?scope and is
focused largely on corporate,
commercial and financial trans
actions. His background includes
extensive experience with new
business formation, commercial
contracts and agreements and
mergers.
Griffis has worked with
lawyers, barristers and solicitors
in New York and London and in
many other cities throughout the
world after beginning his career as an individual prac
titioner in Lexington and Denton.
Griffis shares office space in the old YMCABpikd
ing. 315 N. #fwe Street. Suite 25ft with R KttafittJ
Babb and Wayne H. Foushee.
Griffis received B.A. (1966) and J.D. (1967
degrees from Wake Forest University and an LL.M
degree from New York University in 1969.
Griffis is the son of the late Dr. John W. Griffis Sr
and Kathryn Sexton Foy. and is a native of Dentoif.
QritRl
NAACP: Retail not kind to blacks
BY JOHN PAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - The
retail industry does a poor job of hir
ing and promoting blacks and gets a
low grade for its marketing and char
itable work for the black community,
the NAACP said last week in its first
ranking of the sector.
The retailers got an overall grade
of D in the report released at the
NAACP's jinnual convention. The
highest grade was A, while F was the
lowest. The highest score was a C+,
awarded to Wal-Mart Stores Inc
"It is very obvious that in that
industry the time for change is now,"
said NAACP President Kweisi
Mfume. But he noted that most
industries did poorly in the first year
the NAACP ranked them.
Three retailers - Dillard's Inc.,
Kohl's Department Stores and Nord
strom Inc. - got F's. Of those three,
only Dillard's responded to the sur
vey that ranked 45 large companies
on employment, marketing, procure
ment, community reinvestment and
charitable donations. Using informa
tion from the companies, the survey
measured how much of those activi
ties were done with blacks.
"Retailers are maxing progress in
their diversity efforts. We do
acknowledge, however, that we do
have a long way to go. Unfortunately
change doesn't happen overnight."
said Scott Krugman, a spokesman for
the National Retail Federation.
Nordstrom spokeswoman
Brooke White said her company
couldn't complete the survey within
the two weeks required by the
NAACP. But she defended Nord
strom, saying it is a partner with the
civil rights group in black youth pro
grams across the nation.
The other two failing companies
did not return calls for comment July
15.
'To those companies that did
poorly: Watch out. we are coming
your way," Mfume said. He noted
that blacks have $500 billion in col
lective spending power and asked
them to "withhold their consumer
dollars" from low-scoring compa
nies.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People also
released similar reports July 15 on
three other industries: lodging,
telecommunications and banking. All
three of the industries received C's
and have been ranked for years.
Mfume had one main complaint
for each of those three: Banks don't
give enough mortgages to blacks,
telecommunications companies
don't name enough black board
members, and hotels don't have
enough black property owners.
Bank One Corp. flunked after the
company did not respond for the sec
ond straight year. Bank One
spokesman Thomas A. Kelly
declined comment.
i Mfume said he would buy stock
in Bank One so he could attend
shareholders meetings and confront
executives about what he said was
their lack of interest in the black com
munity.
Qwest Communications Interna
tional Inc. got a D. but company offi
cials said the grade does not reflect
efforts by its new management team
to promote diversity.
"We are not satisfied with our D
rating and we are committed to
improve our score through programs
that support diversity," spokesman
Chris Hardman said.
Top scorers in each category
were Marriott International Inc. with
a B in lodging; Wachovia Corp., J.P.
Moigan Chase & Co., and Bank of
America Corp., each with a B- in
banking; and BellSouth Corp., Veri
zon Communications and AT&T
Corp., each with a B in telecommu
nications.
Marriott named best by NAACP
I SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
WASHINGTON - The
National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
announced it has ranked Mar
riott first among 12 hospitality
companies included in the
NAACP's annual lodging indus
try report. The hotel chain was
cited for demonstrating industry
leadership in several diversity
related areas, including board
membership, supplier diversity,
franchising, and the hiring,
retention and promotion of
minorities.
Marriott is the only hotel
company to top the list for five
years.
"Our relationship with
organizations such as the
NAACP plays a very important
role in our continued growth and
commitment to diversity," said
J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman and
CEO, Marriott International Inc.
"We are pleased to be ranked as
the industry leader again."
Marriott's Supplier Diversity
Initiative was the first program
in the industry to institute a sup
plier-diversity program and con
tinues to lead the industry. In
2002, Marriott purchased $177
million in goods and services
froijt businesses owned by
minorities and women, nearly a
threefold increase since the
company's supplier diversity
program was launched five
years ago.
As of March 2003, the Mar
riott International Franchise
Network included 220 minority
owned franchised properties and
has more than doubled the num
ber .of women- and minority
owned franchises in the past
five years.
At Marriott, minorities occu
py more than 50 percent of all
supervisory positions and 11
percent of all general manager
positions. This year Marriott
International was also again
named to two of Fortune's top
lists: "Best Companies to Work
for" and "'Best Companies for
Minorities."
D'Angelo King
(left) and
Shlonte McGee
(right) are con
gratulated by
St. Augustine's
President
Dianne Board
ley Suber.
O
Sweeeeet
St. Aug's students receive laptops,
scholarships from makers of Equal
I special to the: chronicle
CHICAGO - Merisant Co., whose products
include Equal and Canderel. and the Equal Foun
dation have partnered with the Tom Joyner Foun
dation to create the Equal Scholars Program, a
branded scholarship fund benefiting students
who attend historically black colleges and uni
versities and are business or culinary arts majors.
D'Angelo King of Charlotte and Shlonte
: McGee of San Francisco - the program's first
i recipients - attend St. Augustine's College in
Raleigh and received $1,500 scholarships and
laptop computers. The scholarships are awarded
based on financial need and academic achieve
ment.
I King, a sophomore and compaw science
major, said he will pot his award to good use as
I he pursues a career as a project manager at a
major computer corporation. McGee. a junior
and business administration major, aspires to
start his own dry-cleaning business in Southern
California.
"I was excited when I heard that I won,"
McGee said, adding that some of his classmates
heard the announcement on "The Tom Joyner
Morning Show." "The first thing I did was to call
my mother."
St. Augustine's President Dianne Boardley
Suber. the college's first female president, also is
elated that her school was selected to he the first
ever recipient of the Equal Scholars Program. "I
think this is tremendous." Suber said. "Many of
our students have tons of potential, and every
opportunity to help them grow is a slam dunk.
Usually schools like St. Augustine's are over
looked by major corporations because they're so
small, so this partnership with Equal is very
important to us and our mission."
Students from the University of Maryland
Eastern Shore and Voorhees College in South
Carolina also received donations recently. Six
additional schools are slated to benefit from the
program later this year. These schools include
Elizabeth City State University. Livingstone Col
lege and Morehouse College.
"By sponsoring the Equal Scholars Program.
Merisant and the Equal Foundation demonstrate
dedication to helping these future black leaders
achieve their dreams with a higher education,"
said Ken Jones, vice president of global integra
tion for Merisant.
S?? of
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON, Tenn. - A federal lawsuit
against Labor Ready claims the temporary
employment firm failed to promote blacks
into management positions and retaliated
against whites who reported discrimination.
The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission office in Memphis filed the dis
crimination lawsuit on behalf of five black
and three white plaintiffs and claims the dis
crimination occurred in the Memphis and
Jackson offices, of Tacoma. Wash.-based
Labor Ready.
"We are an equal opportunity employer,"
said Stacey Burke, Labor Ready spokes
woman. "We will cooperate fully in the
investigation. Beyond that, I can't comment
more."
Plaintiff Raymond Terry told The Jackson
Sun that Labor Ready area executives wanted
only white managers in the stores.
"I have never seen anything like this
before. The racism was blatant," Terry said.
"When they hired me, they said they wanted
team players. Because 1 was white, they
assumed I would be prejudiced against
blacks, I suppose."
Ierry said he was following company
policy to report any instances of discrimina
tion on the job" when he and two others from
Jackson lodged complaints with Labor
Ready's corporate office in 2000.
Terry said his work then came under
greater scrutiny and he eventually was fired.
The lawsuit also said Robert Herron,
another plaintiff, was fired as a Labor Ready
customer service representative after he com
plained of discrimination when three white
women were promoted in Memphis. Herron
had told his boss he wanted to become a man
ager and "was as, or more, qualified for the
positions," the complaint said.
The suit is a class-action lawsuit, and new
plaintiffs could be added, said Faye Williams,
an EEOC attorney.
The complaint asks the court to demand
Labor Ready cease its discriminatory promo
tion practices and provide back pay for the
eight employees.