DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS
Twenty years ago, a group of Black businessmen hit on the idea of forming an African American Chamber of Commerce to help grow small businesses and foster relationships among them, and with the corporate and public sectors. It was chartered in 1998 and hasn’t looked back—until last week, when the Rivers Club hosted a celebration of those 20 years.
Doris Carson Williams, who was hired away from the Carnegie Museums to be the chamber’s first director—now president and CEO—said the evening was very special because she got to see old friends and members that she hasn’t seen for some time.
Samuel Stephenson, the chamber’s first board chair and the current chair, gave a brief history of the organization’s formation. Chuck Powell, formerly with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, spoke about the politics involved and about mimicking a successful model developed in Atlanta, and Chester Engineers founder Robert Agbede spoke about his search for a director and hiring Williams.
“We also paid homage to members who have passed, and we recognized the women of the chamber,” said Williams.
“But it was kind of surreal because when I spoke about the programming we’d put together like the diabetes series we did— Highmark CEO David Holmberg walks in. I talk about corporate engagement—Frank Coonelly from the Pirates walks in. But CCAC President Quintin Bullock took it over the top talking about our Junior Chamber of Commerce because he had testimonials from the kids.”
Also in attendance were the current and former Allegheny County executives, the mayor, the former director of the federal Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprise, among others. Greg Spencer, the chamber’s second chair, talked about its importance both from the standpoint of a executive at EQT and as the owner of a small business.
What does Williams remember about the last 20 years?
“I remember thinking I’d do this for three or four years and go back to the corporate world. I didn’t realize that once you’re in it, you’re in it. People will make promises based on you, so you have to follow through. Hopefully we made a difference from small businesses that what it was about,” she said.
“The fun part was engaging the corporate community, getting them involved—because you had to sell it. The hard part was raising the money. I’d not had to do that before, but I learned how and had good people to help me—building relationships and never missing an opportunity to say thanks.”
And as the evening closed, she did just that, recognizing New Pittsburgh Courier Editor and Publisher Rod Doss for the paper’s support over the years.
“Where would we be without the Black Press,” she said. “Rod was there from the beginning—our first event had H.J. Russell from Atlanta. Rod was the first to cover our story.”
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