Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame Inducts 12 Honorees

Dallas, Texas – The Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame, now in its fourth year of celebrating women-owned businesses and their successes, inducted a new group of women entrepreneurs and those who value their contributions at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas at Las Colinas on Dec. 5. With 200 people in attendance during the ceremony presented by the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce, honorees from around the country were recognized for excellence in entrepreneurship, leadership and mentorship.

Women-owned business enterprise inductees for 2012 are Alta Baker, president and CEO of Safe Haven Enterprises LLC of Jennings, La.;and Andra Rush, founder, president and CEO of Rush Group LLC in Wayne, Mich. Tim Harden, president of supply chain and fleet opertaions for Dallas-based AT&T Services, Inc., is Executive Advocate of the Year.

Inductees in the category of executive leadership are Pamela Prince-Eason, preseident and CEO of Women’s Business Enterprise National Council in Washing ton, D.C.; Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., founder and president of New York City-based Women Presidents’ Organization; Debbie Hurst, president of Women’s Business Council – Southwest in Arlington, Texas; and Becky Sykes, co-creator and immediate past president and CEO of the Dallas Women’s Foundation.

The 2012 Corporate Trailblazer inductees are Patricia Richards, director, disability supplier diversity program, U.S. Business Leadership Network, based in Alexandria, Va.; and RIchard Stouffer, former director of minority/women’s business development at Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc.

Corporate Leadership inductees for 2012 are Parsippany, N.J.-based Avis Budget Group Inc. and Atlanta-based United Parcel Service of America Inc.

The Unsung Hero Award went to Mazzie Moses, vice president of Telecom Electric Supply Company in Plano, Texas.

Alta Baker

WBE Inductee

Alta Baker, president and CEO, Safe Haven Enterprises LLC, receives the WBE Hall of Fame Advocate of the Year award, presented by Billie Bryant Schultz, president and CEO, CESCO
Alta Baker is president and CEO of Safe Haven Enterprises of Jennings, La., an internationally respected corporation that excels in the engineering, fabrication and installation of fire- and blast-resistant modular buildings, portable units, facilities, doors, windows and louvers. Often called upon for her expertise on women’s issues, Baker was the keynote speaker at Project Tsunami in Washington, D.C., and the Women Trading Globally conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she spent three days in training with the women who formed the first Iraqi governing council sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Andra Rush

WBE Inductee

Jackie Taylor, director, diversity supplier programs, Rush Group of Companies, accepts the WBE Hall of Fame Entrepreneur of the Year award on behalf of Andra Rush (not pictured), founder, president, and chief operating office of the Rush Group. The award was presented by Tom Trotter, vice chairman of the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce.
Rush Group of Companies. Native American Andra Rush is the founder, president and chief executive operating officer of the Rush Group, which includes Rush Trucking Corp. and Dakkota Integrated Systems LLC. This consortium of manufacturing, trucking, assembly and distribution is one of the largest Native American-owned businesses in the U.S. Rush serves on the boards and commissions of many organizations, including the Minority Business Roundtable, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Detroit Economic Club, Childhelp Michigan, Current Motor Co. and Michigan Women’s Foundation. In addition, she serves on the supplier advisory boards for Chrysler and General Motors.

Tim Harden

Executive Advocate

Tim Harden, president, supply chain and fleet operations, AT&T Services Inc, receives the WBE Hall of Fame Executive Advocate of the Year award, presented by Nina Vaca, CEO, Plinnacle Technical Resources.
Tim Harden. As president of supply chain and fleet operations for AT&T Services, Inc., Harden is accountable for all related global functions, including strategic sourcing, purchasing, supplier quality and supplier diversity programs, supply chain logistics and distribution, and fleet management. With his help, the company has been named one of America’s Top Corporations for WBEs by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council for 13 years in a row.

Pamela Prince-Eason

Executive Leadership inductee

Pamela Prince Eason, president and CEO, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, receives the WBE Hall of Fame Executive Leadership award, presented by Lynn Scott, chairman of the board of the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce.
Pamela Prince-Eason. As president and CEO of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Prince-Eason is the national voice for business issues concerning women. She is the former chair of the WBENC board of directors and previously held the position of vice president of worldwide procurement for Pfizer Inc.

Marsha Firestone

Executive Leadership inductee

Marsha Firstone (left), founder and president of the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization, receives the WBE Hall of Fame Executive Leadership award, presented by Larry Cauldwell, vice president, PepsiCo IT and corporate service procurement.
Marsha Firestone, Ph.D. A recognized expert in entrepreneurship and economic development, Firestone is the founder and president of the Women Presidents’ Organization, established in 1997 as a peer advisory organization for women who own multimillion-dollar businesses. She is also founder and president of the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization, dedicated to increasing access to business opportunities for women’s business enterprises.

Debbie Hurst

Executive Leadership inductee

Debbie Hurst, president, Women’s Business Council – Southwest, receives a WBE Hall of Fame award in the Executive Leadership Category presented by Cheryl Stevens, vice president, supplier diversity, Energy Future Holdings. Debbie Hurst. As president of the Women’s Business Council − Southwest since 1997, Hurst has provided a steady focus on advancing and enhancing business opportunities between women-owned businesses, corporations and public agencies. Serving as the president of the council, she plans, organizes, coordinates and directs all programs and activities throughout a four-state region including Oklahoma, central and north Texas, Arkansas and New Mexico. Under Hurst’s leadership, the WBCS has grown to more than 1,000 women’s business enterprises and corporate members.

Becky Sykes

Executive Leadership inductee

Becky Sykes, co-creator, Dallas Women’s Foundation, receives a WBE Hall of Fame award in the Executive Leadership catergory, presented by Debbie Dennis, vice president of corporate affairs, ONCOR.
Becky Sykes. In 1985, Sykes and 18 other women created the Dallas Women’s Foundation to encourage investment in women and girls and foster women’s philanthropy. Sykes is the immediate past president and CEO of the organization and served as its first board chair. Today, the foundation is the largest and one of the oldest of the 200 women’s funds around the world, granting $3 million per year to local nonprofit agencies dedicated to helping women and girls.

Patricia Richards

Corporate Trailblazer

Patricia Richards, director, disability supplier diversity program, U.S. Business Leadership Network, receives a WBE Hall of Fame award in the Corporate Trailblazer category, presented by Nancy Hahn, vice president, planning and supplier diversity corporate responsibility, Alcatel-Lucent.
Patricia Richards. Richards joined the U.S. Business Leadership Network® as director, disability supplier diversity program in July 2011. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the program’s strategies, including strengthening the USBLN certification process; increasing the utilization of service-disabled and disability-owned firms; and assisting corporations and agencies with disability programs.

Richard Stouffer

Corporate Trailblazer

Shannon Suber, director, minority and women business development, Texas Instruments, accepts a WBE Hall of Fame award in the Corporate Trailblazer catergory on behalf of Richard Stouffer (not pictured), found of The Stouffer Group. The award was presented by Sam Cheng, chief financial officer, Paul Quinn College.
Richard Stouffer. A long-serving supporter of supplier diversity, Stouffer was the director of minority and women’s business development at Texas Instruments Inc., where he led and developed the company’s supplier diversity program from its inception. He retired from the company in 2001 after managing international procurement, corporate contracts, facilities materials services and global logistics — in addition to supplier diversity.

Avis Budget Group

Corporate Leadership

Jeannine Haas (left), chief marketing officer, Avis Budget Group, accepts Avis Budget Group’s WBE Hall of Fame award in the Corporate Trailblazer catergory, presented by Gloria Tostado, community relations manager for General Motors Corporation.
Avis Budget Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Ronald L. Davis has placed strategic importance on doing business with WBEs believing they help strengthen the company’s supply base and are a vital component of its success. The company maintains a robust program to promote the growth and development of WBEs and encourages their participation in its opportunities. In addition, Davis prefers to partner with companies that also view women suppliers as essential to success. Avis Budget Group has supported the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council since the organization was founded 15 years ago and has been listed among WBENC’s list of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises for 12 years in a row.

United Parcel Service

Corporate Leadership

Kathy Homeyer (left), supplier diversity director, UPS, accepts UPS’s WBE Hall of Fame award in the Corporate Leadership catergory, presented by Bob Ontiveros, chairman and founder, Group O Companies.
United Parcel Service of America Inc. Named by WBENC as one of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises for 13 consecutive years, UPS’s supplier diversity program was formally launched in 1992, and in 2011, spent $780 million with diverse suppliers. As part of its diversity initiatives, the company ensures that women are encouraged to bring their best efforts to UPS. Under chairman and CEO Scott Davis’s direction, UPS has increased WBE spend in many areas, such as legal services, marketing and human resources — in addition to enhancing inclusive franchisee opportunities. More

Mazzie Moses

Unsung Hero

Mazzie Moses (left), co-founder, Telecom Electric Supply Company, receives the WBE Hall of Fame Unsung Hero award, presented by Jim Tanksley, senior manager, supplier diversity programs, Lockheed Martin.
Mazzie Moses. In 1985, Mazzie B. Moses and her husband, Fred Moses, founded Plano-based Telecom Electric Supply Company specializing in telephone systems. One year later, Telecom expanded its offerings and became a full-line electrical distributor. The company has been a supplier to Southwestern Bell, Levi-Strauss, JC Penney, Frito-Lay and Texas Utilities. Thanks in part to Mazzie’s contributions and unwavering commitment, Telecom has won many awards, including the Supplier of the Year Award from the Minority Business Development Center of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the M Award from Minority Business News and the MBE Supplier of the Year Award from the Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Development Council. The company has received the Gold Star Supplier Award and the Partnership Award from Texas Utilities. Dedicated to community and quality of life, Mazzie Moses is the president of the Plano North Metroplex Chapter of Links, Inc, and has served on the Collin County Community College advisory board and the National Council of Negro Women. Moses received the Athena award for exceptional leadership in business and in the community by the Plano Chamber of Commerce.

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