Earlier this month, the Dayton Business Journal (DBJ) named their honorees for the 2021 Diversity in Business Awards. This award gives recognition to individuals and organizations that are involved in expressing diversity throughout their community and businesses.
Open nominations start in July with the deadline in August. Companies can either nominate themselves or are nominated by an outside party. Once nominated, DBJ’s editorial board selects the winners.
This award ceremony is new, and this is only the second year it has been held.
Here are this year’s honorees:
Outstanding Diversity Organization:
- CareSource
- Dayton Contemporary Dance Co.
- Woolpert
Outstanding Diversity Champion (Organization):
- Clark State Community College
- Dayton Metro Library
- Fidelity Health Care and Premier Community Health
- Fifth Third Bank (Dayton)
- Greater Dayton Area Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Legal Roundtable
- Minority Business Partnership – Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce EPI Foundation
Outstanding Diversity Champion (Individual):
- Eloise Broner, Premier Health
- Michael Carter, Sinclair Community College
- Keanna Daniels, Parallax Advanced Research
- Dr. Andre Harris, Premier Health
John E. Moore Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Racial Equity:
- William Gillispie, board member, The Dayton Foundation
There are four different categories that nominees fall into; two for organizations and two for individuals.
The first is the Outstanding Diversity Organization, which promotes for-profit and nonprofit organizations that have supported and encouraged diversity and inclusion within their workforces.
The second category is Outstanding Diversity Champion Organization, which recognizes for-profit and nonprofit organizations that have accomplished diversity and inclusion in the business community or their industries. That includes organizations that have made the business case for diversity, as well as those supplying diversity-related resources such as job sites, training programs, marketing campaigns and learning initiatives.
There are also two awards for individuals, the first one being Outstanding Diversity Champion, which gives recognition to individuals with for-profit and nonprofit organizations who have shown passion and commitment to promote diversity and inclusion within their organizations or in the community, as well as those making a positive difference through contributions to social justice and equality.
The other individual award is John E. Moore Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Racial Equity. This award honors individuals with for-profit, nonprofit and community organizations who have spent a major portion of their professional lives bettering the practice of diversity and inclusion, making significant and important contributions to the movement.
Fifth Third was one business nominated for Outstanding Diversity Champion. Laurie Guirand is a personal banker at Fifth Third and has been with the company for a little over a year.
“Everyone at Fifth Third is given the same opportunities to succeed,” Guirand said. “They always make sure we are well rewarded for our hard work and care about our opinions.”
Fifth Third was also on Forbes Best Employer for Diversity back in April of this year.
“We take surveys once in a while to ensure the workspace is diverse and everyone is treated equally,” Guirand said. “As a woman, it is very encouraging to be heard and feel important in your workspace.”
Hannah Poturalski is the managing editor for Dayton Business Journal and “encourages people who are involved in the community to promote diversity in all organizations.” She has been with Dayton Business Journal for three years.
The award ceremony will be held on Oct. 14 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Steam Plant, located at 617 E 3rd St. in downtown Dayton. Single ticket prices are $80. Stories on honorees will be published on Oct. 15 and can be found at https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/.
Marquie Peyton
Intern