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[Music] good afternoon and thank you for joining us for the toledo regional chamber of commerce's 127th annual meeting presented by fifth third bank i'm wendy gramza president and ceo of the chamber on behalf of our board of trustees and staff we'd like to welcome you to our first ever virtual annual meeting the last 12 months have been some of the most challenging our nation our region and our organization have ever faced they have also been some of the most transformative and innovative as the covet 19 pandemic taught us to adapt quickly become more flexible and come together while staying apart today we will reflect on how the lessons learned in 2020 can incite positive change for the future at the chamber and in your businesses and while many things have changed one thing that has not is the incredible support the toledo chamber continues to receive from so many i would like to take this opportunity to recognize first our 2 000 plus members and especially the 140 new members who joined the chamber this past year our local elected officials many of whom have tuned in today our 2020 board of directors these individuals are your peers and they represent the broad range of businesses that make up the chamber membership thank you for your service and for sharing your time and expertise your leadership over the last 12 months has been more important than ever [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and last but certainly not least today's sponsors which include our presenting sponsor fifth third bank gold sponsor medical mutual silver sponsor rco law and v a risk and bronze sponsors associated general contractors of northwest ohio connect toledo downtown development corporation mosher palmer energy company rudolph libby group and the toledo lucas county port authority we are once again pleased and thankful to have fifth third bank as the presenting sponsor for the annual meeting i would now like to introduce alex gerkin city president of fifth third for some remarks alex thank you wendy it's my pleasure to help kick off the chamber's 127th annual meeting albeit a bit of a different format than years past for the sixth year in a row fifth third is proud to be the presenting sponsor of this event for toledo area businesses and chamber members we're also proud of the collective work being done in our community by our local businesses the chamber and fifth third to help one another during these challenging times for fifth third this includes helping our region's businesses obtain their paycheck protection program loans and even more importantly to assist in the secondary loan forgiveness process additionally as part of our overall philanthropic commitment to the toledo community last year we provided 75 000 to connecting kids to meals and mobile meals of toledo to address the effects of coven 19 in our community in spite of all that work there's so much more to do as we work collectively to move our region forward towards a healthy and more equitable future for all with that said that will be the primary focus of today's annual meeting our program today will include an overview of the ceo action for diversity and inclusion which i'm proud to say that fifth third has signed we will then continue with a dialogue on effectively creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce of course you'll also hear how the chamber pivoted to address the numerous challenges of 2020 as well as the important initiatives they're focusing on in 2021 and beyond my hope is that after today's presentation all of you will join fifth third bank in making a pledge to act on and support a more inclusive workplace by adding each of your very own signatures to the ceo action for diversity and inclusion please enjoy the annual meeting but most importantly be safe and prosperous in 2021 it seems hard to believe that just over a year ago we held this meeting in person we would not even have thought to describe the meaning as in person over 600 of us gathered to network sharing the accomplishments of the year just passed and look forward to the year ahead i remember i mentioned the memes we'd be seeing of barbara walters and what we expected to come in 2020. well it turns out we did not have 20 20 vision because none of us could have anticipated what was coming there's no doubt that 2020 was a difficult year between the pandemic civil unrest and a historic election our last annual meeting feels more like it was a decade ago not just a year ago for many of us it was a year we would rather not remember but for all of us it is a year we will never forget so let's take some time now to look back on 2020 starting with some comments from our 2019-2020 chairman of the board bill mcdonnell regional president pnc thank you wendy the last two years have been a whirlwind though i regret we're not able to meet in person as we have in prior years i am proud of the hard work put in by the board chamber staff and our business community to secure northwest ohio's position as a preferred place for diverse talent and economic opportunity looking back 2020 began like any typical year as wendy mentioned we held this meeting as we always have coming off a year when our region was booming and full of ambitious plans for the future the chamber had a busy agenda of initiatives planned to continue to advocate lead and connect our community in ways to move us all forward in just the first two months of 2020 we built new relationships like becoming the convener of northwest ohio manufacturing alliance or noma we started the new driver's ed program for next generation leaders who have entered c-suite and ownership positions for the first time we joined bowling green state university in launching the toledo regional data center we also celebrated young professionals who are making our community a better place to live and working through the tol limelight series and we held the morning access legislative breakfast to connect business leaders with public officials to advocate for a positive business climate in the region the morning access event of february 14 2020 was the last fully in-person event the chamber held by march 23rd we were operating under a statewide stay-at-home order and found that in the months that followed our region and our nation faced difficulties we could not have imagined during this time the chamber faced the same challenges and asked many of the same questions that your businesses did how do we do this do we have the right technology in place how long will this last and what is zoom but most importantly why while we were figuring these things out we knew we needed to focus on what do our members need from us right now so while our plans morphed to accommodate our community's biggest needs one thing remained constant we held true to our mission we would advocate we would lead and we would connect and yes we're really good at zoom right now as wendy presents our chamber year in review she will cover much of this work in more detail but without stealing too much of what she'll cover i would like to call out just some of the things that organization the organization has done over the year like no other our small business development center worked to provide businesses with information and application assistance on great grant programs such as the economic injury disaster loan program the small business relief grant and the paycheck protection program they worked with over 500 businesses over the course of six weeks that's a 150 more businesses than they worked with in all of 2019. further we coordinated with 20 of our partners in the region on the northwest ohio business reboot initiatives to specifically assist with the economic recovery and streamlined resources we developed business reboot policy recommendations focusing on suggestions for local state and federal agencies aimed at helping businesses recoup and recover our website and communications focused on making the latest and most accurate information and resources available to local businesses members and non-members could sign up to receive coronavirus email communications as it became available the chamber quickly shifted to a digital format for its important events not only existing ones but also new programming such as the business reboot at round tables which brought together businesses in the same industry to work through reopening issues and identify areas of need and in addition to covet related concerns we introduced a series of webinars related to equity and diversity in response to nationwide civil unrest including training on microaggressions in the workplace and on a presentation from owens corning on their employee resource groups but among the chamber's most important work last year was helping to distribute what began as a 1.5 million dollar grant funding through the lucas county small business stabilization grant based on the overwhelming response from the business community we requested and res and succeeded and that the county increased the grant to two million dollars during my tenure as chair we found new ways to connect with our community serve our membership and fortify northwest ohio through avenues we may have otherwise never discovered we uncovered segments of our community that we knew we could serve in new and better ways and built relationships with organizations that are now stronger than ever i feel fortunate to have served as chairman in 2019 and 2020 and i'm proud to be part of such a professional staff and board i look forward to seeing the chamber and our business community's continued growth as we welcome steve spagelski as your new new toledo chamber board chairman thank you thank you bill i cannot tell you what your leadership has meant to the chamber and to me personally over the last two years has it really only been two years feels like a lot longer as a token of our appreciation i would like to present you with this plaque commemorating your chairmanship and your commitment to the organization thank you wendy appreciate it very much now i would like to acknowledge our retiring board and committee members this is the part i will definitely miss doing in person especially since two of our outgoing board members are past chairman to whom i owe many thanks steve tucci president sc group llc stacy hammer president manpower inc of toledo mike hart president and ceo heart mark stockwell principal toledo office findlay inc david woodward president and creative director everwild daniel woodcock ceo peacock social james slattery president valpak of northwest ohio dave schwartz owner armada logistics inc and amir khan president black swan interactive llc thank you so much for your service to the chamber your leadership is essential for the chamber's success [Music] as we reflect a little more on 2020 it feels like the first two months of the year were a different time altogether so thank you bill for the reminder that the chamber was already rolling full speed ahead on several important initiatives early last year before everything changed so drastically in many ways it feels like 2020 began last march and specifically march 23rd when the state's stay-at-home order went into effect we didn't really know what we were facing yet but the chamber dove head-first into helping our members make sense of things then reopen or reboot as we called it and then recover that part we're still working on we began by providing timely and reliable information directly to members about decisions at the local state and federal level that would impact them like the sba disaster relief funding and the economic injury disaster loan program we shared what businesses needed to know about the cares act payroll protection program and the definition of essential business we created new landing pages on our website dedicated to spreading the word about local restaurants surviving on takeout businesses sharing virtual events put on by the chamber and our members and connecting community members looking for work with businesses in need of talent our small business development center really was a north star for so many businesses in our region last year in an average year the sbdc works with about 350 clients helping them start a new business expand their business or accessing capital in 2020 the sbdc worked with 601 businesses that's right 601. not only did the sbdc help our regional small businesses stay afloat they helped small businesses access and apply for grant funding offered counseling services to businesses that needed mentorship and worked around the clock truly to connect them with key resources oh and believe it or not some very brave entrepreneurs also chose to start a business last year all that work resulted in the retention of over 1100 jobs and the formation of 19.2 million in capital in our region really just incredible work from our small but mighty sbdc team but don't take my word for it let's hear about it in their own words i had a passion you know that was part of it but i also wanted to run a business jill did an awesome thing for me and she still don't know today that i still have those flow charts she did a spreadsheet for me uh three year on and i was like oh my god look at look at this spreadsheet you know i still have it by the way look at this i was able to pay myself back that i invested and i invested close to a hundred thousand dollars it was really nice when we found the sbdc and realized that they could be a resource for us in terms of figuring out everything that was going on with the support around coronavirus they really made the process easier for us otherwise we would have spent a lot more time we would it would have distracted us from trying our best to maintain business as usual or just to even keep things afloat during that time to have somebody in your corner during that time it's something that you know at some point you will need and so when you need them it's good to have them they made it very easy and simple like sometimes when you say when you're here you wanna gotta apply for a loan you gotta apply for a grant that the thoughts come in your head you gotta wait you have to fill all these paperwork you gotta do this you don't know where to start but they literally tell you from the start to finish how to go with it and then they follow up on your behalf sometimes and they made it very very easy very simple [Music] as confusing and disrupting as the shutdown was for businesses reopening was equally so to specifically assist with economic recovery help restore consumer confidence streamline resources and avoid duplication of services the chamber coordinated with more than 20 regional partners to form northwest ohio reboot initiative as part of this initiative we held industry-specific business reboot roundtables to assist bars and restaurants salons child care centers logistic firms realtors and developers entertainment businesses and retailers with reopening we also developed business reopening guidance in coordination with the lucas county health department and worked with the county treasurers to implement flexibility on payment of property taxes a special thanks goes out to buckeye broadband for the reboot psa they produced and ran for us and to pnc bank who donated media time to us to promote the reboot initiative and as part of this initiative we did get a few cherished moments of in-person celebration last year we cheered businesses on as they were able to reopen or retool their businesses during the business reboot ribbon cutting blitz we celebrated the reopening of 41 businesses from all different industries from the toledo club and manhattan's to the renaissance hotel and salon onyx [Music] this wasn't just a great way to celebrate the businesses in our community as they reopen their doors to an uncertain world it was also pretty fun [Music] also during this time our advocacy and public policy department developed business reboot policy recommendations focusing on suggestions for local state and federal agencies aimed at helping businesses recoup and recover our staff regularly monitored the governor's press conferences participated in conference calls with the lieutenant governor as part of our ohio metro chamber coalition and coordinated our hb 197 letter to the governor supporting his ef orts to provide emergency relief to ohioans during the pandemic the staff had more than 900 contacts with local state and federal elected officials last year to communicate the issues and concerns of our regional businesses including conference calls with senator portman and state senator teresa gaviron we also developed a list of recommendations that was provided to local government officials to assist businesses and taxpayers during the health crisis and we kept an eye on other issues including primary election changes local tax policy building inspections tarta and november ballot issues but perhaps the biggest pivot we had to make as an organization last year and personally i will be glad to banish the word pivot from our vocabulary for a good long time was where our events were concerned at our very heart we are a group that convenes we convene meetings committees trainings and events and we continued to do so it just looked very different it feels like we added a new staff member this year named zoom we quickly shifted our suite of events from in-person to a virtual format we hosted 138 events in 2020 that were attended by almost 1800 individuals we also had to get creative with new and old favorites that we couldn't gather to enjoy seafood at hollywood casino like we typically would we were still able to keep clam and carry out with a clam take and bake including a delicious meal prepared by walt churchill's markets for clambake 2020 presented by pnc and because many members chose to support the events with our donate meals option we were able to make a fifteen hundred dollar donation to connecting kids with meals and instead of heading down to columbus for our annual legislative day we brought columbus to you with our capital conversation series and last year's talent summit was transitioned to virtual talent resource week which was a huge success as we discussed key resources to help businesses attract and retain talent we helped to announce welcome tlc's guide to hiring immigrants and launch the toledo chamber job board we once again showed our members summer interns the value of living and working in the toledo region with a virtual addition of our summer in the city program which hosted sessions on unconscious bias being a leader setting goals and of course a few digital happy hours epic toledo the largest young professional organization northwest ohio also made an incredible pivot with the leadership summit presented by buckeye broadband tackling the complicated topics of both racial equity and personal wellness in a year when it couldn't have been more relevant plus in addition to the reboot ribbon cuttings we also got to celebrate ribbon cuttings with new members to the community including arc restoration's renovation of the former wonder bread factory copper bowl luxury nail bar urban air and krispy kreme in a tough year it's more important than ever to take those moments to celebrate and we were always thrilled to be able to do so with our new and reopening members but perhaps some of the work i'm most proud of us doing last year was being chosen by lucas county to administer the lucas county small business stabilization grant i can't overstate how hard our staff work to create a process from start to finish in just a matter of weeks to collect and review applications and distribute two million dollars in grant money to 141 local small businesses 71 of which were minority veteran or women-owned businesses so what about 2021 i have to say i'm hesitant to get too excited i don't want to jinx it but i will say we're optimistic about what this year will bring among our most exciting new partnerships is being part of the v project northwest ohio's initiative to educate and encourage our community to get vaccinated so we can slow the spread of the virus and dare i say get back to normal on the path to return to normalcy we're so happy to see four of our unique programs this year the institute for leadership and advocacy the emerging leader program powered by vistage export success and driver's ed as they kick off a year of informative classes and key mentorship opportunities and i think all of us look forward to our exciting programs like the geo series and our focus on business launches to return to in person and though we're so excited and ready to eventually return to in-person meetings and be in the same room with all of you once again we're excited first and foremost to continue to serve you our members and keep building a positive successful and thriving business community here in northwest ohio to tell us a little more about the year ahead i will now turn it over to our 2021 chairman of the board steve smigelski general manager of coleman corporation thank you wendy we have a unique opportunity to welcome 2021 with a fresh start we learned so much in the last year we've grown stronger as a community the chamber is no different as we look to our objectives for 2021 we must continue to forge ahead with our mission to advocate connect and lead but with the perspective of a community that has weathered a year unlike no other that said our goals for 2021 focus on moving forward with optimism and determination not just helping to keep the business community of northwest ohio strong but to build upon it as well our talent and workforce strategy will continue to bring many organizations together to grow the opportunities available in the region and avoid duplication of services we will create diversity equity and inclusion initiatives and opportunities in conjunction with other regional efforts for our members we plan to build a talent pipeline in the region through industry sector partnerships in transportation health care and manufacturing industries we will build upon the resources of our toledo region brand attracting new talent to the region through social media campaigns and increased awareness of our community's unmatched opportunities we will continue to offer the summer in the city internship program to our members helping companies to attract young talent encourage that talent to stay or return to our region through our advocacy and public policy agenda we will help ease and eliminate the barriers of doing business in the city of toledo and lucas county encouraging new businesses to grow and build a foundation here existing businesses to stay and grow here advocate for regional transportation solutions continue the support and growth of our own institute for leadership and advocacy program as well as external organizations such as the 180th fighter wing and other military units and continue to foster the relationship between elected officials and business leaders through legislative and workforce events series such as morning access and capital conversations this year our small business development center broke its own records when we came to assisting our region's businesses and we plan to continue that momentum we will position the sbdc as the premier service for business support in the region providing 3600 counseling hours to new and existing businesses to assist them in starting up here growing here or acquiring existing operations in the region we will continue our top of the line programming including driver's ed series for the new c suite leaders export success for businesses expanding into new international markets and the manufacturers roundtable series we plan to work alongside jumpstart and other local organizations to offer critical services and resources to strengthen the region's entrepreneurial support system finally as we always do we plan to focus on you our members in order to strengthen and grow the chamber so we can continue to support the programs services and access available to our members we plan to reach and surpass important membership goals seek and secure revenue opportunities to support our operations outside of membership dues be a reliable consistent and sought after source of information on covid19 and how it impacts the business community as well as other important issues that concern our region launch the middle market accelerator ensuring middle market business leaders are not left behind but are instead connected to key information and resources they need to succeed and improve our own internal processes in human resources customer demographics and financial information as well as conduct the 2022 through 2025 strategic planning process and complete the us chamber accreditation process setting ourselves up for a strong and fruitful future i also want to recognize and give thanks to bill mcdonald for his hard work and unwavering vision over the past two years setting up the chamber for success and stability especially in this past year that came with so much uncertainty i anticipate fostering new growth bringing new talent to the region and helping to advocate for a more positive future for our business community i look forward to working with wendy the board the entire chamber staff and membership as we enter into a new and exciting year thank you thank you steve i look forward to your leadership in 2021 and now for today's keynote program at this very meeting a little over a year ago as part of our presentation on our 2020 initiatives the chamber presented its diversity statement a few short months later civil unrest would erupt around the nation and in our own city after the murder of george floyd sparked a worldwide movement for racial justice and equality as did many others in our community at that time i issued a statement on behalf of our organization in which i demanded more of ourselves our nation and our region to eradicate racism i pledge to walk a path alongside other community leaders until we see meaningful systematic change in our society these words must be followed up by actions which for our organization has included convening regularly with a group of our board members so that we can learn and listen thank you so much for your willingness to share your stories and experiences with me we're also staying connected to the ywca's work on the black agenda as well as the city of toledo's disparity study and forward cities initiatives there is much to do and we all must do our part so today i recommit the chamber to doing ours because the toledo regional chamber of commerce believes that celebrating diversity championing equity and cultivating inclusion are key to creating a vibrant economy in the toledo region we support an environment that fosters and respects the special talents expertise and knowledge of all backgrounds and perspectives to better serve and represent our membership we are committed to seek an equitable transparent and inclusive board membership workforce business environment and community we demonstrate these values through our policies practices membership services and community engagement and we support our members and partners as they do the same to learn more about what each of us can do it is my pleasure to introduce today's presenters we will begin with an overview of the ceo action for diversity and inclusion from scott shuler toledo market managing partner for pwc scott has spent over 25 years at pwc and is currently the engagement partner on owens corning and dana he also sits on the board of directors for the toledo regional chamber of commerce in the marathon classic scott earned his accounting degree at the university of iowa and is a certified public accountant we will then be joined by roy weathers from pwc and brian chambers from owens corning for their engaging dialogue on creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome to bring their best selves to work businesses of all sizes and industry will gain valuable insight into beginning or enhancing the dei journey within their own organization strengthening our commitments to our employees our customers and our community and each other roy weathers is a pwc vice chair and member of the u.s leadership team as the pwc u.s vice chair of policy and societal engagement he is responsible for working in many different external stakeholders on societal challenges and important policy matters roy also leads ceo action for racial equity a fellowship that mobilizes the business community to advance racial equity through public policy roy has more than 25 years of experience serving multinational clients and providing a full range of services and his senior relationship partner on a number of the firm's key clients he currently serves on the board of the trustees for madison square boys and girls club the pinkerton foundation carnegie hall elc and riverdale country school roy earned a masters in accounting with a concentration in taxation from clemson university and a bachelor of arts in accounting from winthrop university he is also a certified public accountant brian chambers is the chairman of the board and ceo of owens corning a world leader in insulation roofing and fiberglass composites during his 17 years with the company he has also served as president and chief operating officer president of the roofing business and several other roles with increasing responsibility additionally brian has worked with saint gobain honeywell boc gases and an international engineering firm in the toledo area he serves on the board for the toledo museum of art and connect toledo and is a past chamber board member scott thank you for joining us today thank you for this opportunity to join you today by video i'm honored to be part of this discussion which is so important and timely the past year has given us clear insight into the continuing challenges we face in our country around inclusion social justice and racial equity the disproportionate human and economic impact of the pandemic on communities of color and then most recently symbols of prejudice and hate carried through the halls of the u.s capitol have been eye-opening to everyone while diversity and inclusion has been a cornerstone of pwc's values for several years these recent events have pushed us to accelerate our efforts and hold ourselves accountable to do even more for our people in our communities but it's also clear that simply addressing diversity equity and inclusion within our four walls is not enough in 2017 we co-founded ceo action for diversity and inclusion starting with a group of 175 ceos from organizations who wanted to do better and achieve more for their organizations the group was created so that ceos as key decision makers and community influencers could leverage each other in pushing the dei agenda forward within their companies the basic principles of ceo action are simple and were designed so that organizations of all sizes no matter where they are in their dei journey can shape their strategies and embed them into their business agendas by committing to and following through on four common commitments which are as follows creating space to regularly host candid and often difficult conversations around dei in the workplace implementing and expanding unconscious bias education sharing best or sometimes unsuccessful practices with one another and creating and sharing strategic inclusion and diversity plans with their board of directors when we started this coalition in 2017 we had no idea how quickly it would grow or how valuable the power of the collective group would be in moving the needle the organization has grown from those original 175 companies to more than hundred organizations today which demonstrates the increased desire from business leaders to talk to their peers about what's working what isn't working in their dei efforts this past year in the midst of a global pandemic a divisive election and civil unrest ceos could have easily pulled back on their dei commitments but they didn't instead we've seen the opposite where business leaders have stepped forward to do even more though we've achieved a lot of progress together we know there is a lot of work left to be done moving forward with this topic is not easy and can be uncomfortable the growth of ceo action is remarkable because it's a clear signal that the business community continues to see the opportunity of how much we can achieve when we do it together the coalition provides the tools resources support and peer-to-peer connections so that no company has to be on their journey alone no matter where they are in it some of the key resources and support that ceo action signatories have access to include training guides and workshops to help organizations structure their conversations and events with employees as well as timely and relevant tools to help take action on the dei journey and help forward connections across the coalition there's a dedicated team that manages the day-to-day operations for the coalition to ensure that the information remains current and relevant signatories can also reach out directly to this team for assistance we believe that by sharing resources and learning with each other as a collective group we can strengthen existing programs and commitments to better serve our employees and society as a whole we recognize that the four commitments within ceo action are not the complete answer but they are important concrete steps towards building more diverse and inclusive workplaces our thoughts on sharing this is we hope the list of signatories in the coalition will continue to grow and we invite other ceos across northwest ohio to join us together i am confident we can achieve even more as wendy mentioned to take you deeper into this discussion we will share a candid conversation between brian chambers ceo of owens corning who has been part of ceo action for several years and my colleague roy weathers pwc vice chair of policy and societal engagement and ceo of ceo action for racial equity i'm proud to participate in today's discussions and i want to thank wendy and the chamber for including pwc in such an important discussion and i encourage all of you to visit www.ceoaction.com for more information [Music] thanks scott roy good to see you great to be with you brian maybe i can get us started with could you just share how pwc's uh ceo action for diversity and inclusion has gotten started and how it's evolved yeah so first of all thank you thank you to wendy and the toledo chamber of commerce for having me today it's a it's a great pleasure to be with you i'm honored uh so maybe i'll get a little bit of background on myself and and how we got going with ceo action uh so my background is in the business i grew up serving clients and and leading uh having various leadership roles in our business and um and almost 14 years ago i got uh asked to be a firm chief diversity officer so sort of coming out of the business for a couple years and really focused on helping expand diversity and after that two-year period i went back to the business so most recently running our tax business uh ceo action for diversity inclusion is really an effort to bring companies together so in 2017 our ceo tim ryan went out and asked a number of organizations such as owen owens corning to say listen how do we come together as a group of companies to support each other as we drive diversity inside our own companies uh scott highlighted the areas of commitment and pledge the four pledges that you and other companies have taken and it's really designed to be a platform for sharing and collaboration among companies as they uh as they do the work of diversity and inclusion and society organization uh one other you know piece that's really important is how we think about this work um and i always say head heart wallet and so there are many reasons that uh the folks listening to this this uh might want to get engaged and i always say they're all right if it's because it makes economic sense for your company if it's because from the heart you feel like it's the right thing to do or from the head in terms of thinking through growth and becoming more aware of the statistics and some of the things we want to improve yeah absolutely maybe maybe you should i'd love to hear you share a little bit about how uh diversity and inclusion got going at your company and for you yeah thanks well for us i mean no one's corning i think like most companies we're continually focused on how we're hiring developing retaining the very best talent and i think we've got two fundamental beliefs one is that the companies with the best talent win in the marketplace and a second belief is that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams so we've been focused for many years with the global operations on on the diversity of our talent but also how we get the most out of the diverse talent in terms of how we make decisions and how we grow the business so i think we've been focused on it we've we've kind of applied traditional tools of talent development mentorship uh we've started and have had affinity groups in our company for for a number of years but i think a real turning point for us was with the co action committee and and the work in kind of late 2017 and 2018 i mean when when the death of a pwc employee kind of fostered the days of understanding in that conversation we really embraced that as an opportunity to lean in and engage our our employees with what was impacting them both at work and outside the workforce and for me those sessions were really a turning point because it was amazing to me as i went through those and our entire executive team went through them how open and candid our employees were about how things were impacting their lives both inside the company and outside the company and the things happening outside the company were just as impactful to how they were doing work and how they were engaged as what was going on inside so it was incredible the sharing uh that took place in the learning um and the second thing that i've discovered was that we weren't as good as i thought we were as a company in terms of engagement and really understanding the issues that were a lot of our employees were facing whether racial issues gender issues uh issues of sexual orientation and how they were being accepted inside the workplace and out and how that was impacting their work and the third impact point for me was i left those discussions with a firm commitment and belief we had to do more and so that really started the journey and we took a number of steps coming out of that to uh to put more focus on inclusion and diversity and we really started with inclusion with a belief that if we're going to really get the most out of our diverse talent we had to create a culture of appreciation that really there was an understanding and a respect and and that that was something we needed to build in terms of really having honest conversations of how people felt about the work how they were engaged at work how they were being limited or marginalized at times at work and and so we had to lead into some pretty difficult conversations but it's just created an environment now where we have more open and candid dialogue it's led to policy changes it's led to new hiring practices and it really has been a groundswell of of our global teams getting engaged and involved around this so it's it's had great impact on our company over the last couple of years yeah well first of all thank you i i completely agree that it's really about the people it's about the employees it's about uh i call it that discretionary energy it's that extra bit of energy that employees will give you when they feel like they belong when they feel like they've been included so that's some best-in-class stuff that you just ran through and uh ceo action for diversity and inclusion is exactly uh the platform to help companies do that in in every way we've enjoyed a lot of those benefits as a large company right maybe you could speak a little bit to how smaller companies medium-sized companies how can they take advantage of this how could they get started yeah so it's a it's a great question and and what i would say is we have 1600 companies now that have signed up and taken the pledge to be part of ceo action for diversity and inclusion uh back when you when you guys joined we had just a few hundred and uh the events that happened over the summer uh just really increased the number of companies that are looking to connect looking for support so when you're if you're a smaller company or a not-for-profit organization there's definitely a place for you at ceo action first inclusion a big part of what we do is share so we knew going in that not all companies were as large as yours or had the resources to pull together uh programs and so companies like your share on our website ceo action for diversity and inclusion and it's open access to any company out there big small not-for-profit to find the things that work for you every company you know won't take up every particular program or strategy but that's what the platform is there to share and to make it a place where big or small not-for-profit or for-profit you can find a place and find some resources well absolutely and i know i've had conversations with other leaders in the toledo community and i know we've we've had other companies join of various sizes and i think it it makes a really big impact yeah no absolutely so so uh over the last year there's been a tremendous amount of of activity in the area of race uh the summer was a very uh tough time for us george ford killing et cetera and so how have you seen over the last year this really transform your company and your thinking around your commitment and what what needs to be done in this area yeah i think when i when i think of everything that that we all have had to endure in in 2020 from a global pandemic uh to just the the killings and and the racial issues and and the pacing into racism social inequities in our communities uh a very contentious election i'd share the foundation we've built through the connections with our teams has what's allowed us to kind of continue to excel and perform through a really tough environment i can't imagine how we would have been able to perform without that level of trust and and communication that we've built up through these what we call these courageous conversations these days of understanding and and by a broader involvement with helping to shape policies and procedures in terms of how we run the company and in it really has been amazing but it's been it's been built on on this this fundamental trust that we've built with our with our employees around communication and then we've asked we we've had over a hundred kind of these what we call courageous conversation discussions through the last year talking about how the pandemic was impacting their lives how they had to adjust to work from home how they were adjusting to home schooling how women were taking on additional burdens at work and at home and and just being having those conversations and creating an environment where people could share be honest and it allowed us to take actions around different policies and different operating protocols to adjust it really is allowed us to continue to operate at a really high level but with and improve the engagement of our employees through that that conversation yeah so you you touched on a couple of things the tools in our ceo actually diversity and inclusion website uh courageous conversations obviously that's one of the the tools that's there just to highlight um some of the benefits i know you and other companies have gotten from ceo action and diverse inclusion you mind if i share so just picking up on that on your on your points around navigating and creating trust uh maybe i'll share one of the things that we launched uh recently uh that's sort of a spin-off for the from diversity and inclusion uh it's ceo action for racial equity um and that effort uh is really about looking to what we can do in the community so a lot of what diversity and inclusion about is about is inside your organization but companies also have a place corporate america also has a place in helping the community and improving society so you don't mind i'll share a little bit about what we've been doing in that area so ceo action for racial equity was launched in october october 1 and it really was an outgrowth of a number of ceos saying we we have a responsibility uh to do more in our community and as a result we launched a fellowship so to date uh we have just under 250 fellows from companies that have said we're going to lend you an employee and some have lent us and contributed more than one employee or a year to two years to help come together and think about what public policies we could help address at the city level so the local level at the state level at the federal level to improve society areas that are contributing to challenges relative to systemic racism and some of some of the other areas and so um i know we've been talking about that and and i'm i'm opening up an offer for any of the companies in the area that want to get involved uh you can find out about it at our website ceo actually for diversity and inclusion but it's just a continuation of the journey we're on and it is a journey by the way um to continue to improve both inside our organization and outside through public policy well and we're obviously a big proponent of that i think it's it's so important that i think business today has not only the opportunity but the obligation to do more inside building more equitable communities and in toledo that's something that we're starting to get more involved in and looking at trying to build a coalition of public private non-profit partnerships where we can really join forces as a community and focus on areas where we can make a real difference in terms of housing education social justice workforce development health care i think these are all areas that as a business community we can come together and support and i think that's something that we're going to be doing more and being more active in the toledo area as we go forward because i think i think it's it's not only good to do the work inside the company but we all live and work and draw uh our our talent from this community and so we've got to have a more equitable community that's good for business it's good for our community development it's it's good for attracting retaining the best talent to propel our companies forward well i i think i think you have innovative thinking there and we'll be supporting you in any in every way we can i'll tell you we all appreciate that when when business when corporate america gets involved things get done whether you're a small business uh whether you're a big business you know in this country which is you know the greatest country in the world i say uh we're striving to make it better every day and um the fact that corporate america is engaging to improve our communities will just give us the best opportunity to get there so i absolutely agree with you 100 and and if you if you had to leave a piece of advice uh to the companies that are listening in terms of uh your journey the urgency and and and where we are and what we can do to contain improve what would be your your piece of advice that you'd like to leave well as as we got started in our journey in in more earnest uh i i talk to a lot of companies in terms of their work and diversity inclusion and and one piece of advice that stuck with me that was pretty consistent was be prepared for the uncomfortable conversations that you are going to open up when you start really getting into and delving into issues of race and gender equality and sexual orientation they create a lot of uncomfortable spaces and some of it is just misunderstandings some of it is more deep rooted and you've got to be able to surface that and deal with it so you got to be prepared for the uncomfortable conversations um but the payoff is so immense i fundamentally believe that this is not just the right thing to do it really propels business performance when you can get an entire talent and workforce uh really uh focused in on understanding each other appreciating each other respecting each other engagement goes through the roof retention goes through the roof and you bring the best ideas to uh to the market and so it has really been not only i say it's not only the right thing to do it's been a great thing to do for our business uh and i think that's the opportunity but i think i think you got to be prepared for the uncomfortable conversations i i think the other you know kind of piece of advice i cherish it really has to be leader-led you ve got to get commitment from your leaders that they they are going to embrace this engage this you have to set objectives you have to set priorities you have to treat it like any other business imperative in terms of the work that's that's got to be done but i think again it is worth it uh when you when you start seeing the involvement and the engagement uh of your teams uh it it really is uh it's something to behold we agree the companies that we talk to um truly believe it's a competitive advantage uh when you when you bring your teams together and they trust each other and you have more harmonization and i echo your get comfortable being a little bit uncomfortable but that's what leaders do leaders lead and uh the the return on that investment both as uh from a societal perspective as well as a business perspective is tremendous and it's well worth well worth the effort well i'll leave you with one uh one comment that a colleague shared with me and this was through a lot of the racial issues last summer um it was that it's not important that you know exactly the right thing to say it's just important that you're saying something and i think uh it's not about being perfect it's not about knowing always the exact thing to say but just really realizing the weight of the moment recognizing the importance of being a leader connecting with your teams in tough times it really does make a big impact absolutely and i'll just add to that we we need to give each other a chance and when we take that chance it's well worth it so this was a great conversation it's good being with you today thanks royce great seeing you again take care take care [Music] scott roy and brian i cannot thank you enough for your time your insight and your leadership on such an important topic as you heard from our chairman steve smigalski diversity equity and inclusion is an important component in our organization's workforce and talent strategy as such it is my pleasure to take this opportunity right now to add my name to the ceo action for diversity and inclusion that felt great i encourage all ceos interested in signing the ceo action for diversity and inclusion to visit the website on your screen and individuals can also pledge to check your bias speak up for others and show up for all and if i could issue just one more challenge i would also like to encourage you to take the ywca's 21 day racial equity and social justice challenge the challenge kicked off march 1st but you can still join in the challenge is a free tool designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits particularly those dealing with issues of race power privilege and leadership we hope you will join us on this journey by visiting their website this concludes our 2021 annual meeting we would usually be sending you on your way with a copy of our year in review which highlights the best in the region over the last year and to tell you the truth we wondered if it would make sense to even create a publication this year but we did because even in the most difficult of years many significant things happened in our region and we focused this edition of the magazine on a central theme of hope though you won't see photos of some of our favorite annual events like promedica summer concert series or crowds of people celebrating the art commission's momentum festival you will see how our region adapted and overcame the 2020 year in review celebrates major business anniversaries our region's efforts to stay together while socially distant toledo and showing support for social justice and exciting developments like the opening of the metro parks treehouse village you can read the 2020 year in review on the chamber's website toledochamber.com we hope you enjoy it once again i would like to thank today's sponsors our presenting sponsor fifth third bank gold sponsor medical mutual silver sponsor rco law and v a risk and bronze sponsors associated general contractors of northwest ohio connect toledo downtown development corporation mosier palmer energy company rudolph libby group and the toledo lucas county port authority i would also like to thank buckeye broadband for producing today's event to our members from all of us at the toledo chamber thank you for your support this year and every year we couldn't do what we do without you and we're so grateful to serve the business community of northwest ohio thank you for joining us for our 2021 annual meeting please enjoy the rest of your day [Music]