It isn't often that you see grown men tear up, but then again, what happened at the Charlotte Chamber today was nothing short of remarkable.  It has been only six months since the Charlotte Minority Economic Development Initiative (CMEDI) was launched by the chamber and Carolinas Minority Supplier Diversity Council (CMSDC), and the early results are stunning. More than 248 jobs have been created by the 18 minority enterprises taking part, $800,000 in contracts have been written so far with another $60 million dollars announced at a news conference on Thursday, February 2nd in the Belk Action Center.

Kendall Taylor and Joe Greene, Metro Transportation Services, could barely believe their good fortune when a joint venture with fellow MBE Llevron Logisitcis produced the multi-million dollar contract over the next three years. Taylor said he was doubtful at first that their company was the right fit for CMEDI, but former Chamber Chair and Bank of America Co-Chief Operating Officer David Darnell helped to convince him it was worth a try. Since then, Taylor's been amazed at the wealth of knowledge and experience their CMEDI corporate partner, Novant Health, and others in the program have shared. "Our company has been in business for 25 years but we've never experienced anything like this," said Taylor.

CMEDI was formally launched in July of 2011 to create competitive advantage for the Charlotte region by being the most inclusive business community in the country. The program works by partnering minority-owned businesses with corporate sponsors. The minority-owned firms gain exposure, capacity building, and an opportunity for increased growth, while the corporations strengthen their supplier diversity programs through benchmarking and sharing best practices.

To watch Taylor's remarks immediately following the announcement, click on the video.

To learn more about CMEDI and the nominationa process, contact Jackie LaJoie at (704)549-1000/jlajoie@carolinasmsdc.org or Keva Walton at (704)378-1319/kwalton@charlottechamber.com.