In partnership with Atrium Health Navicent, Southern Company and Truist, the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce hosted dozens of minority-owned, woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses at their first Supplier Diversity Summit. The summit featured instructional sessions, breakout groups and networking opportunities which provided valuable information and resources related to the procurement of goods, services and construction contracts. Bringing together 44 minority-owned, woman-owned, and veteran-owned local businesses, the summit spurred increased partnerships within the Macon business community.

“Our minority-owned, woman-owned and veteran-owned businesses represent some of the best of what our city has to offer,” said Lynn Farmer, Chief People Officer with the Chamber. “It is not always clear how those businesses can take their great work and ideas to the next level. This diversity supplier summit demystified the procurement process and demonstrated the many tools available for local businesses to get a leg up.” 

Feedback solicited during the summit reflected the value that attendees garnered from the full day of connection and collaboration. Participants highlighted, in particular, the opportunities that were on display, how much they learned from panelists, and the benefits of networking with fellow business owners. One local business owner said about attending that it “gave us a chance to engage one-on-one with the companies and how their procurement process operates.”

“There is no question that Macon is home to some of the top talent in the State,” Farmer continued. “Making sure that businesses have the tools and resources they need to succeed is one of our top priorities at the Chamber. Our goal with this Summit was to bring together companies big and small to elevate our deep bench of local talent that should be better represented in the procurement process. This Summit helped pave the path forward, and we can’t wait to see how our businesses walk down it.”