October 20, 2025 • 40 mins
We are honored to have a true leader in veteran support with us in conversation today, Eric Goodie, Executive Vice President, responsible for HAUL's programs operations. Eric oversees critical initiatives like the HAUL Veteran Support Services, which provides essential financial lifelines—be it for mortgage arrears, dental care, or food/grocery assistance—to our local veterans and surviving spouses. We’ll also focus on one of the most critical events for our local prosperity: the 2025 Houston Minority Supplier Development Council Business EXPO. The President and CEO of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, the HMSDC- Ingrid Robinson, a long-time champion of economic inclusion, joins us for the convo on connecting certified minority businesses with major opportunities that build wealth and strengthen our neighborhoods.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Live inside your local Houston BMW Center Studios. Welcome back
to the public Affairs podcast. I'm your host, Sky Houston,
and on today, they've been calling him a superstar all
over the place because he's everywhere before a good cause.
Now we are honored to have a true leader in
veterans support with us today. And I don't say that lightly.
I don't see him just doing work here in the city.
(00:23):
Everywhere I go nationally, he is there with a smile.
But ladies and gentlemen, welcome today with me the executive
vice president responsible for Hall's program operations, mister Eric Goodie,
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Ye Sky, thank you so much for having me. Always
a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Seeing you now.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
This is crazy because we've seen each other four years.
I back in my early twenties, I volunteered with the
New Lights program down at the Urban League. We don't
even have the New Lights program anymore.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I don't believe do we have.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
The New Lights. But you say that, and it's been
a pleasure seeing you grow up. I guess we'll just
evolve into this amazing woman that you are today.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Thank you standing.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It's good to see familiar faces, not just any faces,
but when you see familiar faces, you know there's work
still getting done. There's floor work, foundational work that's been done,
and that's getting expounded upon. And I don't know if
people understand what it takes to keep some of these
programs really going, really funded and supported programs that generation
after generation can benefit from. Some folks their children were
(01:25):
being mentored in the program. Now those children are adults
and their children are reaping some of those same mentor
and support benefits. So I'm really happy that we're here
to discuss the Radio one Houston Veterans Day Golf Classic.
It benefits the Veteran Support Services over at Hall. Tell
us a little bit about how that partnership came about,
you know.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Scott, the Texas Veterans Commission has been very generous to
this community for many, many years. This year they brought
in almost eight million dollars to veteran serving organizations. Specifically
the Houston Area Urban Leagues program addresses housing retention. We
are able to provide mortgage payments for veterans they're surviving,
(02:05):
spouses and or their families so that they can retain
their house and then connect them to other resources that
address any deficiencies or pain points that they might be experiencing. Now,
veterans have served this country, when they come home, there
need to be no barriers for their reintegration, and organizations
like the Urban League and other TVC funded organizations are
(02:26):
there to make sure that we support them in a
way that first acknowledges their service and then make sure
that we address any barriers again so that they can
get what they need.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I think sometimes when we haven't served, some of us
may have family members who have served, but we don't
really see the depth of their needs when they come back.
We think, oh, that's just uncle Leroy.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
He's back.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know, he got a couple of challenges, but he's
all right. Or we don't see them and we wonder
where are there there? What are they doing. They're surviving.
We're trying to survive the best way they know how.
Eric There used to be a I don't know if
it was in an apartment or it was housing place
right down by Fann and fifty nine where I believe
they house some veterans and these weren't older gentlemen.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
These were young men veterans. Does it still that exist, Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It does. It does, and there's also new veteran housing
coming online through programs supported by the state and partnership
with the city and other developers here in the market.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Good to know. I want them to know that there
are places.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, you know, Scott, you touched on such an important point.
We cannot fully understand what our veterans experience when they
go into a combat zone, when they're serving the country,
how they sacrifice, and we are all beneficiaries of that.
Coming from a veteran family. My father, two brothers all veterans,
(03:47):
and I have a granular understanding of what that might
look like. But again, when they come home, they need
to have everything they need and.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
They don't need to be forgotten.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I say that because I was telling my son the
other day about I'm doing my genealogy and we have
this urban legend in our family about Uncle Jay.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
And Uncle Jay died, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
He got hit by a train, and they were like
the urban legend in our families that he was hopping
trains wherever he was going after he came back from
the service. But no one knew why Uncle Jay was
out there floating. He had a family places that he
can come to us to live. But sometimes our family
members are dealing with mental issues that we can't even
see or understand the level of. So when you talk
(04:32):
about getting our veterans' services, it's getting them housing, it's
getting them you know, hygiene, dental care, things that make
them feel like they are men and women of honor still.
And I just want to talk a little bit about
that to give people who aren't familiar with being a
servant yourself what it looks like for them and how
(04:53):
families could consider them a little bit more what they've
been through.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, again, the mental the emotional trauma that many veterans experience. Again,
we really can't fully understand that unless we have stood
in there. We'll call them boots combats, and so when
they come home, you know, the things that they might exhibit,
(05:18):
we might not understand. But they're organizations that provide those
service to address mental health, mental wellness. They provide a
safe place for veterans to come together where all of
them understand what that experience was like. So they have
the Brotherhood, the sisterhood, the fellowship, and then these organizations
(05:39):
provide professional service to address mental health, mental wellness.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
The golf tournament I was just going to bring them
back there.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Being on the golf course is therapeutic for the veterans
and our partners, and so really there's kind of a
holistic approach that is taken to address not just veterans,
but anyone that finds themselves in dress, to address the deficits,
the issues, and to connect them to resources that are
available here in the city. We are not operating in
(06:08):
a market of scarcity. Yeah, their resources everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
It's good to know that because sometimes when you don't
know how to get the resources, you feel like there's
nothing out there for me.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, it's about resource navigation, and the Urban League, along
with other veterans serving organizations, organizations that are under the
United Way Umbrella, have a host of resources that we
can make available to the community. So it's just a
matter of finding that access point and then allowing the
organization to help facilitate the resource navigation to get you,
(06:37):
your family, the veteran, the surviving spouse to their families
what they need.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Yeah, I'm going to make that entry point for you listeners,
if you're just tuning in, I'm speaking with Eric Goodie,
executive vice President. I'm responsible for Hall's program operations. But
we're talking about the twenty twenty five Radio One Veterans
Day Classic. It happens Thursday, November sixth over at the
Wildcat Golf Club.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
We have a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's resident about HB but we're gonna have plenty of
vendors on site, other sponsors, so your entry to learning
the network of support, come out to our golf tournament.
There's still ways you can be involved. Go to our
website my Houston Magic dot com and see if you
can get your veteran to be apart. We're given away
a golf down the golf.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
On the green. Absolutely nothing better, right Yeah, now, e
do you golf?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I have?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know, I've got great, great golf attire, but you know, golfing,
taking the time is really a luxury. So I always
enjoy coming out and supporting this event again, being at
the beautiful Wildcat Golf Course, being with our partners, being
with the veterans, being with the wonderful Radio one family
and all your affiliated station. So it's just a great
day again supporting such a worthy cause. And we're just
(07:47):
so appreciative to be a beneficiary of this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
And Eric mentioned that golfing is a very expensive habit.
I have some friends who really go in golfing, from
the attire down to the equipment down to to you know,
going to a nice place like Wildcat.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
It can be expensive.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So another reason why we want to invite you to
nominate a veteran that you know to spend a down
grain on us. Okay, so real quick, speaking of financial things,
what is one of the top financial challenges that our
veterans face.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Well, again, you know, housing is the specific area that
we address, and so on the average, we will support
about one hundred and fifty veterans, their surviving spouses and
their families, allocating on an average about two thousand dollars
to address you know, arrears in their mortgages and or
getting them into stable housing. And again these resources come
(08:43):
from the Texas Veterans Commission, again pushing almost eight million
dollars into the market this year through that resource. I
believe the overall amount you know, access north of fifty
million dollars through TVC for all of the various programs.
So again, no scarcity, lots of resources are available.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
That's good to hear.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Like when our veterans come back, what is the disconnect
or I don't know the stats how many of them
are able to find employment. What do the stats look
like for that? And what do we have available to
help them connect? Because they have skills when they come back,
they weren't over there just twiddling their thumbs. They have
real skill sets and the mindset that you have to
have to be organized. So they have some transferable skills.
(09:28):
What does it look like coming back to get a
job and how can they go forward with that?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
You know, Scott, it's really a matter of helping both
the veterans and the employer community understand that transferability of
the skill. Yeah, as you indicated, our veterans are discipline focused,
their methodical. They have skills that they develop and utilize
while they are enlisted. And then how they transfer those
(09:54):
back to the market is where organizations like the Urbanly
come in. We help them to to create a narrative
that helps them to engage with the employer. This is
what I did while in the service, this is what
it looks like in the market here, and then connect
them to those opportunities and resources that help them get
jobs that provide career opportunities, not just jobs, but livable
(10:16):
wages and career opportunities and in some cases reskilling and
or upskilling for the jobs that exist today.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Now, what did I hear? Did I hear you say
you connect them? Who are the some of the organizations
we connect them with?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
So, of course the Urbanly is a United Way organization.
There's you know, fifty plus organizations that provide very specific
scopes of services. Our Employer partners we are a member
of the Greater Houston Partnership, and so you know all
of the employers that are looking for qualified candidates for
the jobs they have available, as well as other employers
(10:52):
that exist in the market, both locally and nationally that
we're able to create connectivity with it.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
It sounds like we have community partners. Just as they
had like battle buddies out in the field. You had
a buddy that you connected with, we're connecting you today.
We have our Veterans Day Golf Classic if you're just
tuning in, presented by HGB. It is Thursday, November six
at the Wildcat Golf Club. Now, what was your favorite
memory from last year? Give me something that stood out
(11:18):
to you about last year's golf tournament.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
You know, again, it's just the camaraderie. It's the fun.
You know. Wildcat is a beautiful golf course. But I
think when Radio One, all of the stations, all of
the partners, the Urban League, the veterans show up, it
brings this energy to this event that I think is unparallel.
(11:42):
It is a fun day supporting such a worthy cost.
And I think that might be the biggest thing for me,
supporting such a worthy cost our veterans in the veteran community.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
And it's so bright out there.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I don't know if God gives us a little more
sunshine on those days, but every time we're on the green,
it is bright out there.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
It feels good. It's a different energy.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
My favorite thing I would have to say is when
we're giving out the trophies. Now there are level trophies
and championships and holes and great things that you can
participate in. My favorite part is when we go to
the room to give the top trophies, seeing the men
at the tables. These men are men of minds, minds
(12:21):
like they are sharing information. If you sit down and
talk with a veteran, I'm gonnacourage somebody. If you've never
sat down to talk with the veteran in your family,
sit down, ask that man or that woman questions about life.
They have some of the richest stories I hear when
we're in those rooms, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I do recall one year where we brought one of
our veteran clients to the event, and this gentleman was
in his late nineties.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yeah, I remember that year.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
He had served in multiple wars and what he said
was that that was the first time that he had
been publicly acknowledged for his service to our country. And
we gave him that award at the Radio One Golf Tournament,
the first time that he had ever been acknowledged. This
(13:08):
man was ninety years old. So how special is that?
So when you talk about again the camaraderie that happens
at the tournament, it's just amazing. It's invaluable, you know,
can't you can't You can't replicate something like that. That
has to be real and authentic, and you guys do
an amazing job.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Thank you. We're talking to Eric Goodie.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Now, Eric, what are some of the other things you
work on through the year outside of the golf tournament
in the veterans department? Are there other events that they
connect with?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So again, the Urban League provides services and education where
we're engaging with students and their parents to help facilitate
academic growth and excellence. Our Housing Program where we're providing
services to the general community for housing acquisition, housing retention, resiliency,
and disaster recovery. Our Workforce Program which includes skills training,
(13:56):
so not just job placement assistance, but upskilling and reskilling
for the emerging jobs that exist today. Our Entrepreneurship Center,
where we're engaging with small businesses, whether they are pre
venture startups or operational, connecting them to access to capital
procurement opportunities through group training and counseling. Our Center for
(14:16):
Social Justice and Education where we're advocating and all of
those spaces, engaging not only with our local public officials,
officials and legislators, but statewide, and then on a national basis,
always you know, as you said, connecting with the national
level League around the country through the National Earth League Conference.
So the you know, the Urban League again was established
(14:38):
in nineteen ten. So we've got a very rich legacy
that we that we that we race you know that
we're that is our foundation. But you said something, how
do we build on that legacy. How what is our
forward focused vision? How are we serving the community today?
So we're very intentional in that regard making sure that
everyone that needs something is aware of what we do,
(14:59):
who we are, and how to connect with us.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I love that and I love being an amplifier.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I look at myself as somebody who, if you got
a great cause, I want to shout out to from
the rooftop.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Hey, they're doing great things.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
How would you kind of encourage people who are listening
right now Magic and Boxing praise listeners that are listening
to the Public Affairs podcast, what would you encourage.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Them to do?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Maybe there's a veteran who has no clue about the
golf tournament, no clue what the Urban League does. Folks listening,
how can they help a veteran. What would they need
to tell a veteran that they may come across, you know,
just in the city. What if they need to tell
them to inform, you know, make them informed about what
you guys do.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Absolutely, so first just get involved. If the Urban League
can be of a benefit, come to our offices, Direct
someone to our website at hau L dot org. They
can make a phone call seven one three three nine
three eight seven zero zero. They can visit our offices
at fifty two sixty Griggs Road seven seven zero two one.
(16:01):
We are here to serve and again, if it's not
something that we can provide internally, we have partner organizations,
not only through TVC but also as a United Way
partner organization, we can connect individuals and families to resources
so that they can again get what they need. Look
at long term stabilization and sustainability. Again, we are not
(16:24):
operating in a market of scarcity resources all around us.
It's about resource navigation and we're just so pleased to
be a part of that process to connect people to resources.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Well, thank you so much the work you guys do.
We definitely need it and I know you guys need
us to continue to support. When he says there is
not scarcity, that means get moving, get the services you need,
and more will come. We will find a way to
make sure we stay connected with the partners who have
our veterans at heart. Again, if you hadn't heard about it,
Radio One's Veteran Day Golf Classic presented by HGB is
(16:56):
Thursday November six, Wildcat Golf Club, Get your spots, get
your holes, whatever you want to be a part of,
but go to our website. It's benefiting the Houston area
Urban leagues, veterans support services. Our veterans need us, and
we're going to show up strong. Thank you again, Eric
Goodie for being here today. Thank We appreciate you as always,
(17:16):
I appreciate you when we return Inside the Public Affairs Podcast.
If you are a business owner, if you've been trying
to go out for contracts and you can't seem to
get it right, you can't crack the code, or things
are changing and you haven't been keeping up. I have
someone dipping into the studio who has the inside tract.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
How do you scale?
Speaker 1 (17:33):
How do you get their RFPs and things to take
your business to the next level or just to sustain.
You're gonna want to hear this conversation. It's next Inside
the Public Affairs Podcast. Welcome back to the Public Affairs Podcast.
Houston's business landscape is diverse, very diverse.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I'm sorry, I'm skyt Houston.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I'm so into our conversation today that I'm ready to
just get going. As I was saying, Houston's business landscape
is as diverse as its people, and that incredible diversity
is a major engine for our city's economic growth, our innovation.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
And our community well being.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
If you are a business owner ever thought about having
a business, There's an event coming the twenty twenty five
Houston Minority Supplier Development Business Expo. It's Texas's largest gathering
of corporations, government agencies, and diverse businesses joining us to
share the mission and the impact of this work. I
have the President and CEO of the Houston Minority Supplier
(18:31):
Development Council, MS. Ingrit Robinson. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Thank you, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 5 (18:36):
I'm really excited to talk about all of these shifts
that are happening, the shifts, shifts, and how we help
small businesses to be able to do that. Our diverse businesses,
minority women owned businesses are seeing shifts everywhere from federal
contracting down to local contracting. So this expo that you
(19:00):
talking about October fifteenth and sixteen has been designed to
be able to help them understand how to take advantage
of that, how to understand what's happening, and how they
need to be positioning their businesses for growth.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Now, before I cracked this mic open, we were having
a real and raw conversation just amongst ourselves off the
record about the landscape changing. And I don't know if
enough people realize it's time to prepare to move differently.
The rest of twenty twenty five and at to twenty
twenty six, someone use a phrase the house is on
fire again, not to panic anybody, but just saying that
(19:33):
to alert you on the changes and how they really
really are about to affect us. So Ingrid tell me
some of the things that we may not know, and
how are things changing When we see things happening like
the government shut down, how is that really affecting us
on this local level?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Like what should we be understanding?
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Well, I think you know we are gearing up for
election season. On November fourth is our next election. So
the things that I'm going to share are important to
make sure that you, your employees, your families are registered
to vote because all of these things will happen. So,
for example, right before the government shut down happened, and
knew what they call a IFR sort of a intermediate
(20:13):
final ruling, which was set up to identify that the
DBE program which stands for DBE is a disadvantage business
enterprise IE minority and women owned businesses, and those are
the business designation given to businesses who want to bid
on federal contracts or Department of Transportation contracts. All of
(20:34):
that infrastructure money that we had, that infrastructure money had
goals attached to it so that minority and women owned
businesses could participate and reap some of the benefits from
their tax dollars in their local communities. Why they helped
to build those communities. Well, the Department of Transportation and
the federal government decided right before the shutdown to say
(20:55):
that they will no longer recognize minority and women as
dbes and so you're going to have to reapply and
show how.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
You've been disadvantaged.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
So the fact that you're a minority, the fact that
you are a woman does not mean that you are disadvantaged.
So you're going to have to prove that. But the
rule came out with no sort of guidance as to
how do we go about doing that? Right, So how
do I reapply? And so we've been working on this
since the government shutdown to try to predict where this
(21:26):
is going. We believe it'll go similar to the eight
A program. So when we talk about things happening federally
and how it trickles down. This is the same thing
that happened with the lawsuit that was filed against the
Small Business Administration for the eight A program, and the
AIGHTA program was designated for minority owned businesses. That designation
(21:47):
got challenged and the SBA had to rewrite its rules
and all of those AIGHTA businesses had to reapply. So
the way EIGHTA works is that is the only federal
program that has a set aside. You fill out this application,
it goes through your financial state, and then there are
set aside contracts for a period of nine years in
(22:09):
which you could apply for and if you get designated,
then you an only eight A firm for that length
of nine years could apply and that was meant to
help grow firms, so you were able to do that. Well,
then with this lawsuit, they had to change the criteria
and you had to go back and reapply and you
had to give designations as to why you believed you
(22:29):
have been disadvantaged and just stay in the eight A program. Well,
here's one of the challenges. You have businesses who were
who may have been discriminated against, who did not want
to put something in the public open record that said
ABC company discriminated against me, and here's what happened. Because
you still want to do business in that industry, you.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
Don't want any backlash exactly.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
So we had to sort of figure out how to
help businesses through their financials and other ways of designating
how they've been dis advantaged and how after leaving the
AIGHTA program, all of a sudden, those relationships that you had,
the quality work that you were providing, all of a
sudden goes away. And so when you see that revenue drop,
(23:13):
you say, well, what was it Because for eight nine
years I was doing business with you and there was
no problems with my business, but they set that aside
for another eight a firm. So the idea that you
can grow your business through to AA, but the challenge
was how do we continue to help you to build
on that when you're no longer.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
In the program.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
So I believe what we'll see through these infrastructure dollars
through text dot is going to be a similar process
where we're going to have to justify why we should
be considered disadvantaged and then be able to count. But
in the interim while they figure it out and tell
us at some point in.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
The future how to apply for that.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
They've said that any businesses who have a goal, those
companies will not have to reporting it's that goal.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
And so one of the challenges is if.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
You're not capturing the data, how do you then show
that there's been a disparity or that there's been discrimination.
If you don't have data, then what do you challenge?
So what the Council does is we say that we're
the corporate America's connector to minority business growth. Nice So
it's not about being a minority. We always say the
(24:23):
certification and designation as a minority business is sort of
the tail. What you lead with is here's what I do.
Here is what I have been able to perform. Here's
my capabilities and the capacity I have to do work.
And by the way, I happen to be a minority
or a woman owned business.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Right, that's not the lead, it's the tail.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I love that HMSDC aims to move the needle in
unrealized potential.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
So what are the primary barriers and.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Challenges that minority owned businesses face right now and winning
major contracts? I know the upcoming Business Expo is going
to help people get to those contracts. What are we
challenged with before that?
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Many of the challenges I always tell people to think
of minority owned businesses are small businesses.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
We are the driver of the economy.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Put a face on that business.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
So a small business, what a small business looks like
from a government perspective. It has a range based on
what you provide. So let's say, if you are a manufacturer,
you hire more people, so there's a different threshold for
you than if I'm an accounting firm where I can
do my work with one or two people. According to
the federal government, a small business can be anyone who's
(25:34):
generating under a couple one hundred million dollars in revenue. Right,
it's what we call the smaller mid tier companies. But
in the Council, what we see is we classify businesses
in the four classes based on their revenue. A Class
one has revenue under million dollars, so that could be
ten thousand dollars in revenue to a million. A Class
two has a million to ten million dollars in revenue,
(25:56):
A Class three is ten to fifty million, and a
Class force fifty and up. So if we look at
that as a sort of outlook of what Houston's business
community looks like. You'll see that the majority of those firms,
so about two thirds of our firms are in that
one to two category. One, of course is the largest,
and then we get a smaller percentage, like five percent
(26:19):
are in that class four that fifty million in up right,
So those are the rarities, and what we're trying to
do is move more businesses along that scale. So what
we've done with EXPO is to try to design opportunities
for all of them. What we've seen, and the pandemic
is a good example of it, is that when companies
begin to lay off because the economy slows down, a
(26:41):
lot of our folks end up starting ventures. Right if
they're not jobs. You got to feed your family, hobbies, hustles,
your hobby. You know what you did for that company
now becomes your career and you starting new entities. And
so at EXPO, we try to design it with something
for everybody. So on day one, our state agency spot
(27:04):
bitfair is free, so if you only want to come
to that, you can meet with state agencies who are
going to have contracts in hand. They're posted on a
site that you can access to prepare for where they
can award contracts ten thousand and under on a spot
or within two weeks of the expo.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
All right, slow down, because I saw that on the
Instagram page you can get contracts on site during the
business expo.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
What is that site?
Speaker 1 (27:29):
So I'm sorry, two sites on site at the expo,
but on the website you can pre prepare for.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
It, right, So you have to register.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
So if you go to HMSDC dot org www dot
HMSDC dot org at the very top, the first thing
you see is expo. You click on that, it'll take
you to the expo site and you say register and
you can register for the spot bidfair only, which is free,
and you can meet the state agencies on day one.
The rest of the conference, though, I think is important
(27:58):
for people to register and invest in themselves because if
you're going to be a business owner, you have to invest.
So we'll have government agencies from date and local who
will be there. We have fortune five hundred companies that
are going to be there. Think about it like if
you're going to the flea market, except it's reverse. So
usually when you go to the flea market, the people
who are in the booths are trying to sell you something.
(28:21):
Right at our expo, the people in the booths are
looking to buy from you. So the businesses walking the
aisles are the business owners, and the people in the
booth are saying, here are the opportunities we have for
small minority women owned business and their whole purpose is
to identify companies that they can incorporate into their supply chains.
(28:42):
We're going to be talking about financials. What type of
financing is available for businesses. If you're starting out, you
need to start out with the end in mind.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
How do you prepare for that?
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Are you looking to build a lifestyle business just to
maintain Are you looking to build a generational wealth business
where you're looking to pass something on to your children.
We'll have different financial institutions that'll be there. I believe
we're at like twelve right now. What we call traditional banks,
your JP Morgan Chases, your Amagies, your Bank of America's,
those type of banks. And then we have what's called CDFI's,
(29:15):
which are basically nonprofit banks. So when you can't get
lending from a traditional bank, you can go to a CDFI,
which is a nonprofit bank that lends to small businesses
who can't get traditional lending from an institution.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
And are there limits depending on what type of bank.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
It is, So they all have different limits, but it
could be anything from twenty thousand dollars loans to five
hundred thousand dollar loans okay. And so the CDFIs serve
as part of the stop gap for businesses so that
you don't have to go to necessarily factoring route. But
we're going to talk about what those different types of
lending are, how to go about figuring out what's the
(29:54):
right bank for you and what you need. Sometimes we'll
have businesses that will come to me and say I
need a business loan, and I'm like, no, what you
need is a line of credit. So part of what
we're going to be doing is help to educate on
the financial language so that you know what to go
in asking for.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yes, I love it, I love it.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Can you speak to business owners about what type of
capital to get win because every scenario doesn't call for
the same type of financing.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
I think that we often think that the only way
to get capital is by getting a loan, But you
can get investments through angel investors, you can have private
equity investors, and our organization can tap into those and
help you connect to those. I actually had a business
last week that called and said, I got a million
dollar order, but the timing I have to pay my
(30:39):
suppliers before I can process the order. So can you
help me identify someplace I have revenue but I don't
have that kind of capital just sitting around. Is there
something you can do or somebody you can connect me
to to help me get the capital to buy this
so I can fulfill this order knowing the money is coming.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
People always talk about scaling. Can you handle the scale?
Can I truly deliver?
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Also, do we understand what it takes to sustain secure
in the funding not only helps you grow the business, but.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Got to be sustaining. Yes, and so we believe.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
One of the things that I would tell businesses all
the time, and we'll talk about this some during the
conference as well, is you know you have to diversify,
which is why we have so many different industries there.
So think about how Houston has diversified over the years.
We used to just be oil and gas, right, and
so when the oil economy tank, it was it was
boom or bust, and then we began to diversify and
(31:34):
we started to have healthcare. Now we have the largest
healthcare system in the nation. So the good and the
bad of it is in Houston, we have I think
more resources than most major cities across this country for
small businesses. For example, the City of Houston just finished
its disparity study. There are programs that the city has
(31:58):
and they set goals. These or not quotas, These are
goals to have inclusion of minority and women on business
on city contracts.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Dig into that a little deeper.
Speaker 5 (32:08):
So it's called a disparity study, and the City of
Houston has been doing it every five years or so.
Metro does one, the Port of Houston does one, Harris
County does one. I'm gonna tie this back to what
happens in DC. As part of the Supreme Court's decision,
they said, in order for you to set a goal,
whether it's college admission, supply chain buying stuff, you have
(32:31):
to show that there's a documented disparity that is the
reason driving those decisions, not just because you are a
minority a woman. The example I'm often given is if
you are Tyler Perry, are you a Oprah Winfrey? I
don't care what color you are. You are not despair.
You don't have a disparity. So what the Supreme Court
basically laid out was three principles. In order to do
(32:53):
a dispairit or to document a disparity, you have to
show that there's a disparity. They look at all the
available busines, businesses, small businesses, minority businesses in the territory
and says, how much money is the city of Houston,
is metro is the port, is the county spending the
school districts? Are you spending with minority and women owned
(33:15):
businesses as compared to their part of the population. So
if you were in construction and you had let's say
that minorities make up thirty percent of the construction businesses,
but you're only getting ten percent of the contracts, then
there's a disparity because there's thirty percent that you represented
the market, so you should be getting thirty percent of
(33:36):
the contract So there's a process that attorneys go through
in organizations where they will look at the spend and
look at what's being bought, and look at the availability
of those small businesses in those communities, and based on
that they will make a determination if there's a disparity
or not. You're an x percent of Houston's community and
(33:57):
a business community, you should be getting x percent of
those contracts.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
What if I'm a business owner, I don't have an
attorney that look at the spend. I don't know how
to go pull the data or what's available to me.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
They don't have to do it right, tell us I
have to do it.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
So if you go to let's say, for the City
of Houston, shout out to OBO. But the Office of
Business Opportunity is a division of the Mayor's office, and
that is the area that sets the goals for those contracts.
All you have to do is visit OBO and they
will be able to tell you. If you look at
(34:32):
the City of Houston, the Port, or any of these
government agencies, if you look at their published procurement opportunities,
you say, I want to bid on that, and it'll
tell you what the goal is. But if you're small
and you're starting out and you're like, I don't know
how to do business with a governmental entity.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
I need an entry point.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
These goals help you to get that entry point so
that you can get in the door.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Let me be an encourager right there, because I'm hearing
so much underneath what Ingrid is saying, like if you
are a business owner or have an idea to be
in business, get in this, and so.
Speaker 5 (35:01):
We're here to help to identify those resources, right, so
you don't have to try to figure it all out.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Yeah, that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
So we're a nonprofit organization and we're connected to all
of these entities.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
So we are here to help you and guide you.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Right.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
We've been around fifty two years. We know how it works,
and so we'll connect you to those resources.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
I always get excited when I feel like somebody's going
to get something out of this, move them to the
next level. I'm speaking again with the President and CEO
of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council. If you're just
tuning in miss Ingrid Robinson. Just a reminder the HMSDC
Business expos coming up October fifteenth and sixteenth at the
ULH Event Center. We're going to talk more about the
(35:42):
sessions that are going to have available to you there,
but reminding people tap into networks.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Tap into networks.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
Now, Ingrid, beyond the expo, what's the most significant win
or success story you've seen recently, maybe a partnership that
proved the model of you know, supply diversity works.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Like, give me an example of the proof is in
this putting right here.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Well, I'll give you two.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
So one, I would say from the corporate side, we
had a couple of years ago when we talked about
shifts happening. Our corporations are really good at helping us
to see where markets are moving. Okay, and so Baker
Hughes came to us and said, sustainability is becoming really
important to us, whether it's in our local communities or
(36:23):
it's in some of the international locations that we work in.
Small businesses, minority businesses are going to have to understand sustainability.
We were able to get a grant from Baker Hughes
to develop the first sustainability course curriculum that helps minority
businesses and small businesses understand the sustainability landscape. You know,
(36:44):
if somebody asked you what were your what scope emissions
are you? Are you scope one, Scope two, Scope three?
You're like, I don't know what that is, right, So
we teach you what that is. We teach you how
to calculate it because we want to start positioning businesses
for where you're going, not where you are to. We
also have another mbe Janay Johnson. So one of our corporations, Cisco,
(37:05):
contacted us and asked us for a company like hers
to do a project. It started out as a five
thousand dollars gig right. Since then they have done and
continued to work with her, and now they are a
million dollar client to her. Well, she started from a
five thousand dollars opportunity. She got in there, she did
(37:26):
her thing, they loved it. They continued to work with her,
and over the course of the last three years, she
has grown that business with that one company substantially to
move her to the next level.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I got to ask you, because there's a lot in
between five grand and the million dollar mark? How did
you guys support her along the way? Everything from the
introduction right. So part of what we do is be
in that connector saying here are firms for you to consider.
As she worked to grow her business with them, we
supported and continued to identify additional opportunities for her through
(37:59):
some of our training development that she might have needed
for that.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
So we've done it all for her.
Speaker 5 (38:04):
We were talking and she said, you know, I want
to share this success and I want to give back.
So that's one of the reasons why she's speaking at expo,
and we're.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Going to be talking. It'll be entrepreneur to entrepreneur to.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
Say, here's how I did it, yeah, and here are
the things that work.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
How long did it take her to go from five
grand to that million dollar mark?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
This was o of course, of like three to four years.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
And that's not a long time.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
It's not a long time, all right.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
People, that may be the motivation you need to attend
and hear these conversations.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
It's important for them to hear from entrepreneurs who have
done it. This is the stuff. If you're doing this today,
stop it right now. And if you're not doing these things,
start it right now.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
I love it, and we're going to start by joining
the HMSDC at their Business Expo October fifteenth and sixteenth.
Use them, work the council. They exist to serve your
need where you are and to grow, help you grow
to the next level ingrid. Lastly, just for those who
I may not have the fun to attend the expo,
there is a free portion at the beginning.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
Tell them there's a.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
Free portion at the beginning the State spot Bitfair, So
Senator Borce Miles sponsors our state State Agency spot Bidfair
where you can come for free on day one and
get access to those contracts. Like we said, the maxis
ten thousand dollars, but if you want to do business
with a state agency, being able to get a contract
for ten thousand dollars is a stepping stone to get
(39:28):
you in there. Remember, Jen, they started at a five
thousand dollars contract, So get in there, get in the door,
and then prove that you can continue to do business.
And if you'd like to participate in other parts, I
believe there might be a few volunteer.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Spots still left open. So if you.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
Want to volunteer right to help us work the expo,
then you can reach out to our office at seven
one three two seven one seven eight oh five or
send an email to info at HMSDC dot org and
somebody will reach out to you atn Gonzales who heads
the volunteers, and she can let you know what spots
we have left available. So you have to work I
(40:06):
believe it's four hours, and then you can attend the
rest of the expo for free.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Get what you need.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Thank you again to Ingrid, CEO of the Houston Minority
Supplier Development Council, Thank you so much. Give them the
website one last.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Time www dot HMSDC dot org.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
All Right, people, these other resources available to you. We
are going to get to that next level together. Thank
you for being here on the Public Affairs Podcast.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
And if you know of a great conversation people or
opportunity that matters to our community in Houston and you
want to hear.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
About it, reach out.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
I'm Skytte Houston and we'll be talking again next week
on the Public Affairs Podcast
Live inside your local Houston BMW Center Studios. Welcome back
to the public Affairs podcast. I'm your host, Sky Houston,
and on today, they've been calling him a superstar all
over the place because he's everywhere before a good cause.
Now we are honored to have a true leader in
veterans support with us today. And I don't say that lightly.
I don't see him just doing work here in the city.
(00:23):
Everywhere I go nationally, he is there with a smile.
But ladies and gentlemen, welcome today with me the executive
vice president responsible for Hall's program operations, mister Eric Goodie,
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Ye Sky, thank you so much for having me. Always
a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Seeing you now.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
This is crazy because we've seen each other four years.
I back in my early twenties, I volunteered with the
New Lights program down at the Urban League. We don't
even have the New Lights program anymore.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I don't believe do we have.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
The New Lights. But you say that, and it's been
a pleasure seeing you grow up. I guess we'll just
evolve into this amazing woman that you are today.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Thank you standing.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
It's good to see familiar faces, not just any faces,
but when you see familiar faces, you know there's work
still getting done. There's floor work, foundational work that's been done,
and that's getting expounded upon. And I don't know if
people understand what it takes to keep some of these
programs really going, really funded and supported programs that generation
after generation can benefit from. Some folks their children were
(01:25):
being mentored in the program. Now those children are adults
and their children are reaping some of those same mentor
and support benefits. So I'm really happy that we're here
to discuss the Radio one Houston Veterans Day Golf Classic.
It benefits the Veteran Support Services over at Hall. Tell
us a little bit about how that partnership came about,
you know.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Scott, the Texas Veterans Commission has been very generous to
this community for many, many years. This year they brought
in almost eight million dollars to veteran serving organizations. Specifically
the Houston Area Urban Leagues program addresses housing retention. We
are able to provide mortgage payments for veterans they're surviving,
(02:05):
spouses and or their families so that they can retain
their house and then connect them to other resources that
address any deficiencies or pain points that they might be experiencing. Now,
veterans have served this country, when they come home, there
need to be no barriers for their reintegration, and organizations
like the Urban League and other TVC funded organizations are
(02:26):
there to make sure that we support them in a
way that first acknowledges their service and then make sure
that we address any barriers again so that they can
get what they need.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I think sometimes when we haven't served, some of us
may have family members who have served, but we don't
really see the depth of their needs when they come back.
We think, oh, that's just uncle Leroy.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
He's back.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
You know, he got a couple of challenges, but he's
all right. Or we don't see them and we wonder
where are there there? What are they doing. They're surviving.
We're trying to survive the best way they know how.
Eric There used to be a I don't know if
it was in an apartment or it was housing place
right down by Fann and fifty nine where I believe
they house some veterans and these weren't older gentlemen.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
These were young men veterans. Does it still that exist, Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It does. It does, and there's also new veteran housing
coming online through programs supported by the state and partnership
with the city and other developers here in the market.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Good to know. I want them to know that there
are places.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, you know, Scott, you touched on such an important point.
We cannot fully understand what our veterans experience when they
go into a combat zone, when they're serving the country,
how they sacrifice, and we are all beneficiaries of that.
Coming from a veteran family. My father, two brothers all veterans,
(03:47):
and I have a granular understanding of what that might
look like. But again, when they come home, they need
to have everything they need and.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
They don't need to be forgotten.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I say that because I was telling my son the
other day about I'm doing my genealogy and we have
this urban legend in our family about Uncle Jay.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
And Uncle Jay died, you know, and.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
He got hit by a train, and they were like
the urban legend in our families that he was hopping
trains wherever he was going after he came back from
the service. But no one knew why Uncle Jay was
out there floating. He had a family places that he
can come to us to live. But sometimes our family
members are dealing with mental issues that we can't even
see or understand the level of. So when you talk
(04:32):
about getting our veterans' services, it's getting them housing, it's
getting them you know, hygiene, dental care, things that make
them feel like they are men and women of honor still.
And I just want to talk a little bit about
that to give people who aren't familiar with being a
servant yourself what it looks like for them and how
(04:53):
families could consider them a little bit more what they've
been through.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yeah, again, the mental the emotional trauma that many veterans experience. Again,
we really can't fully understand that unless we have stood
in there. We'll call them boots combats, and so when
they come home, you know, the things that they might exhibit,
(05:18):
we might not understand. But they're organizations that provide those
service to address mental health, mental wellness. They provide a
safe place for veterans to come together where all of
them understand what that experience was like. So they have
the Brotherhood, the sisterhood, the fellowship, and then these organizations
(05:39):
provide professional service to address mental health, mental wellness.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
The golf tournament I was just going to bring them
back there.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Being on the golf course is therapeutic for the veterans
and our partners, and so really there's kind of a
holistic approach that is taken to address not just veterans,
but anyone that finds themselves in dress, to address the deficits,
the issues, and to connect them to resources that are
available here in the city. We are not operating in
(06:08):
a market of scarcity. Yeah, their resources everywhere.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
It's good to know that because sometimes when you don't
know how to get the resources, you feel like there's
nothing out there for me.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, it's about resource navigation, and the Urban League, along
with other veterans serving organizations, organizations that are under the
United Way Umbrella, have a host of resources that we
can make available to the community. So it's just a
matter of finding that access point and then allowing the
organization to help facilitate the resource navigation to get you,
(06:37):
your family, the veteran, the surviving spouse to their families
what they need.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Yeah, I'm going to make that entry point for you listeners,
if you're just tuning in, I'm speaking with Eric Goodie,
executive vice President. I'm responsible for Hall's program operations. But
we're talking about the twenty twenty five Radio One Veterans
Day Classic. It happens Thursday, November sixth over at the
Wildcat Golf Club.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
We have a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
It's resident about HB but we're gonna have plenty of
vendors on site, other sponsors, so your entry to learning
the network of support, come out to our golf tournament.
There's still ways you can be involved. Go to our
website my Houston Magic dot com and see if you
can get your veteran to be apart. We're given away
a golf down the golf.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
On the green. Absolutely nothing better, right Yeah, now, e
do you golf?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I have?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
You know, I've got great, great golf attire, but you know, golfing,
taking the time is really a luxury. So I always
enjoy coming out and supporting this event again, being at
the beautiful Wildcat Golf Course, being with our partners, being
with the veterans, being with the wonderful Radio one family
and all your affiliated station. So it's just a great
day again supporting such a worthy cause. And we're just
(07:47):
so appreciative to be a beneficiary of this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
And Eric mentioned that golfing is a very expensive habit.
I have some friends who really go in golfing, from
the attire down to the equipment down to to you know,
going to a nice place like Wildcat.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
It can be expensive.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So another reason why we want to invite you to
nominate a veteran that you know to spend a down
grain on us. Okay, so real quick, speaking of financial things,
what is one of the top financial challenges that our
veterans face.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Well, again, you know, housing is the specific area that
we address, and so on the average, we will support
about one hundred and fifty veterans, their surviving spouses and
their families, allocating on an average about two thousand dollars
to address you know, arrears in their mortgages and or
getting them into stable housing. And again these resources come
(08:43):
from the Texas Veterans Commission, again pushing almost eight million
dollars into the market this year through that resource. I
believe the overall amount you know, access north of fifty
million dollars through TVC for all of the various programs.
So again, no scarcity, lots of resources are available.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
That's good to hear.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Like when our veterans come back, what is the disconnect
or I don't know the stats how many of them
are able to find employment. What do the stats look
like for that? And what do we have available to
help them connect? Because they have skills when they come back,
they weren't over there just twiddling their thumbs. They have
real skill sets and the mindset that you have to
have to be organized. So they have some transferable skills.
(09:28):
What does it look like coming back to get a
job and how can they go forward with that?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
You know, Scott, it's really a matter of helping both
the veterans and the employer community understand that transferability of
the skill. Yeah, as you indicated, our veterans are discipline focused,
their methodical. They have skills that they develop and utilize
while they are enlisted. And then how they transfer those
(09:54):
back to the market is where organizations like the Urbanly
come in. We help them to to create a narrative
that helps them to engage with the employer. This is
what I did while in the service, this is what
it looks like in the market here, and then connect
them to those opportunities and resources that help them get
jobs that provide career opportunities, not just jobs, but livable
(10:16):
wages and career opportunities and in some cases reskilling and
or upskilling for the jobs that exist today.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Now, what did I hear? Did I hear you say
you connect them? Who are the some of the organizations
we connect them with?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
So, of course the Urbanly is a United Way organization.
There's you know, fifty plus organizations that provide very specific
scopes of services. Our Employer partners we are a member
of the Greater Houston Partnership, and so you know all
of the employers that are looking for qualified candidates for
the jobs they have available, as well as other employers
(10:52):
that exist in the market, both locally and nationally that
we're able to create connectivity with it.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
It sounds like we have community partners. Just as they
had like battle buddies out in the field. You had
a buddy that you connected with, we're connecting you today.
We have our Veterans Day Golf Classic if you're just
tuning in, presented by HGB. It is Thursday, November six
at the Wildcat Golf Club. Now, what was your favorite
memory from last year? Give me something that stood out
(11:18):
to you about last year's golf tournament.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
You know, again, it's just the camaraderie. It's the fun.
You know. Wildcat is a beautiful golf course. But I
think when Radio One, all of the stations, all of
the partners, the Urban League, the veterans show up, it
brings this energy to this event that I think is unparallel.
(11:42):
It is a fun day supporting such a worthy cost.
And I think that might be the biggest thing for me,
supporting such a worthy cost our veterans in the veteran community.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
And it's so bright out there.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I don't know if God gives us a little more
sunshine on those days, but every time we're on the green,
it is bright out there.
Speaker 4 (11:58):
It feels good. It's a different energy.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
My favorite thing I would have to say is when
we're giving out the trophies. Now there are level trophies
and championships and holes and great things that you can
participate in. My favorite part is when we go to
the room to give the top trophies, seeing the men
at the tables. These men are men of minds, minds
(12:21):
like they are sharing information. If you sit down and
talk with a veteran, I'm gonnacourage somebody. If you've never
sat down to talk with the veteran in your family,
sit down, ask that man or that woman questions about life.
They have some of the richest stories I hear when
we're in those rooms, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I do recall one year where we brought one of
our veteran clients to the event, and this gentleman was
in his late nineties.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Yeah, I remember that year.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
He had served in multiple wars and what he said
was that that was the first time that he had
been publicly acknowledged for his service to our country. And
we gave him that award at the Radio One Golf Tournament,
the first time that he had ever been acknowledged. This
(13:08):
man was ninety years old. So how special is that?
So when you talk about again the camaraderie that happens
at the tournament, it's just amazing. It's invaluable, you know,
can't you can't You can't replicate something like that. That
has to be real and authentic, and you guys do
an amazing job.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Thank you. We're talking to Eric Goodie.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Now, Eric, what are some of the other things you
work on through the year outside of the golf tournament
in the veterans department? Are there other events that they
connect with?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So again, the Urban League provides services and education where
we're engaging with students and their parents to help facilitate
academic growth and excellence. Our Housing Program where we're providing
services to the general community for housing acquisition, housing retention, resiliency,
and disaster recovery. Our Workforce Program which includes skills training,
(13:56):
so not just job placement assistance, but upskilling and reskilling
for the emerging jobs that exist today. Our Entrepreneurship Center,
where we're engaging with small businesses, whether they are pre
venture startups or operational, connecting them to access to capital
procurement opportunities through group training and counseling. Our Center for
(14:16):
Social Justice and Education where we're advocating and all of
those spaces, engaging not only with our local public officials,
officials and legislators, but statewide, and then on a national basis,
always you know, as you said, connecting with the national
level League around the country through the National Earth League Conference.
So the you know, the Urban League again was established
(14:38):
in nineteen ten. So we've got a very rich legacy
that we that we that we race you know that
we're that is our foundation. But you said something, how
do we build on that legacy. How what is our
forward focused vision? How are we serving the community today?
So we're very intentional in that regard making sure that
everyone that needs something is aware of what we do,
(14:59):
who we are, and how to connect with us.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I love that and I love being an amplifier.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I look at myself as somebody who, if you got
a great cause, I want to shout out to from
the rooftop.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Hey, they're doing great things.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
How would you kind of encourage people who are listening
right now Magic and Boxing praise listeners that are listening
to the Public Affairs podcast, what would you encourage.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Them to do?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Maybe there's a veteran who has no clue about the
golf tournament, no clue what the Urban League does. Folks listening,
how can they help a veteran. What would they need
to tell a veteran that they may come across, you know,
just in the city. What if they need to tell
them to inform, you know, make them informed about what
you guys do.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Absolutely, so first just get involved. If the Urban League
can be of a benefit, come to our offices, Direct
someone to our website at hau L dot org. They
can make a phone call seven one three three nine
three eight seven zero zero. They can visit our offices
at fifty two sixty Griggs Road seven seven zero two one.
(16:01):
We are here to serve and again, if it's not
something that we can provide internally, we have partner organizations,
not only through TVC but also as a United Way
partner organization, we can connect individuals and families to resources
so that they can again get what they need. Look
at long term stabilization and sustainability. Again, we are not
(16:24):
operating in a market of scarcity resources all around us.
It's about resource navigation and we're just so pleased to
be a part of that process to connect people to resources.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Well, thank you so much the work you guys do.
We definitely need it and I know you guys need
us to continue to support. When he says there is
not scarcity, that means get moving, get the services you need,
and more will come. We will find a way to
make sure we stay connected with the partners who have
our veterans at heart. Again, if you hadn't heard about it,
Radio One's Veteran Day Golf Classic presented by HGB is
(16:56):
Thursday November six, Wildcat Golf Club, Get your spots, get
your holes, whatever you want to be a part of,
but go to our website. It's benefiting the Houston area
Urban leagues, veterans support services. Our veterans need us, and
we're going to show up strong. Thank you again, Eric
Goodie for being here today. Thank We appreciate you as always,
(17:16):
I appreciate you when we return Inside the Public Affairs Podcast.
If you are a business owner, if you've been trying
to go out for contracts and you can't seem to
get it right, you can't crack the code, or things
are changing and you haven't been keeping up. I have
someone dipping into the studio who has the inside tract.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
How do you scale?
Speaker 1 (17:33):
How do you get their RFPs and things to take
your business to the next level or just to sustain.
You're gonna want to hear this conversation. It's next Inside
the Public Affairs Podcast. Welcome back to the Public Affairs Podcast.
Houston's business landscape is diverse, very diverse.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I'm sorry, I'm skyt Houston.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I'm so into our conversation today that I'm ready to
just get going. As I was saying, Houston's business landscape
is as diverse as its people, and that incredible diversity
is a major engine for our city's economic growth, our innovation.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
And our community well being.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
If you are a business owner ever thought about having
a business, There's an event coming the twenty twenty five
Houston Minority Supplier Development Business Expo. It's Texas's largest gathering
of corporations, government agencies, and diverse businesses joining us to
share the mission and the impact of this work. I
have the President and CEO of the Houston Minority Supplier
(18:31):
Development Council, MS. Ingrit Robinson. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Thank you, Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 5 (18:36):
I'm really excited to talk about all of these shifts
that are happening, the shifts, shifts, and how we help
small businesses to be able to do that. Our diverse businesses,
minority women owned businesses are seeing shifts everywhere from federal
contracting down to local contracting. So this expo that you
(19:00):
talking about October fifteenth and sixteen has been designed to
be able to help them understand how to take advantage
of that, how to understand what's happening, and how they
need to be positioning their businesses for growth.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Now, before I cracked this mic open, we were having
a real and raw conversation just amongst ourselves off the
record about the landscape changing. And I don't know if
enough people realize it's time to prepare to move differently.
The rest of twenty twenty five and at to twenty
twenty six, someone use a phrase the house is on
fire again, not to panic anybody, but just saying that
(19:33):
to alert you on the changes and how they really
really are about to affect us. So Ingrid tell me
some of the things that we may not know, and
how are things changing When we see things happening like
the government shut down, how is that really affecting us
on this local level?
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Like what should we be understanding?
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Well, I think you know we are gearing up for
election season. On November fourth is our next election. So
the things that I'm going to share are important to
make sure that you, your employees, your families are registered
to vote because all of these things will happen. So,
for example, right before the government shut down happened, and
knew what they call a IFR sort of a intermediate
(20:13):
final ruling, which was set up to identify that the
DBE program which stands for DBE is a disadvantage business
enterprise IE minority and women owned businesses, and those are
the business designation given to businesses who want to bid
on federal contracts or Department of Transportation contracts. All of
(20:34):
that infrastructure money that we had, that infrastructure money had
goals attached to it so that minority and women owned
businesses could participate and reap some of the benefits from
their tax dollars in their local communities. Why they helped
to build those communities. Well, the Department of Transportation and
the federal government decided right before the shutdown to say
(20:55):
that they will no longer recognize minority and women as
dbes and so you're going to have to reapply and
show how.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
You've been disadvantaged.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
So the fact that you're a minority, the fact that
you are a woman does not mean that you are disadvantaged.
So you're going to have to prove that. But the
rule came out with no sort of guidance as to
how do we go about doing that? Right, So how
do I reapply? And so we've been working on this
since the government shutdown to try to predict where this
(21:26):
is going. We believe it'll go similar to the eight
A program. So when we talk about things happening federally
and how it trickles down. This is the same thing
that happened with the lawsuit that was filed against the
Small Business Administration for the eight A program, and the
AIGHTA program was designated for minority owned businesses. That designation
(21:47):
got challenged and the SBA had to rewrite its rules
and all of those AIGHTA businesses had to reapply. So
the way EIGHTA works is that is the only federal
program that has a set aside. You fill out this application,
it goes through your financial state, and then there are
set aside contracts for a period of nine years in
(22:09):
which you could apply for and if you get designated,
then you an only eight A firm for that length
of nine years could apply and that was meant to
help grow firms, so you were able to do that. Well,
then with this lawsuit, they had to change the criteria
and you had to go back and reapply and you
had to give designations as to why you believed you
(22:29):
have been disadvantaged and just stay in the eight A program. Well,
here's one of the challenges. You have businesses who were
who may have been discriminated against, who did not want
to put something in the public open record that said
ABC company discriminated against me, and here's what happened. Because
you still want to do business in that industry, you.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
Don't want any backlash exactly.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
So we had to sort of figure out how to
help businesses through their financials and other ways of designating
how they've been dis advantaged and how after leaving the
AIGHTA program, all of a sudden, those relationships that you had,
the quality work that you were providing, all of a
sudden goes away. And so when you see that revenue drop,
(23:13):
you say, well, what was it Because for eight nine
years I was doing business with you and there was
no problems with my business, but they set that aside
for another eight a firm. So the idea that you
can grow your business through to AA, but the challenge
was how do we continue to help you to build
on that when you're no longer.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
In the program.
Speaker 5 (23:33):
So I believe what we'll see through these infrastructure dollars
through text dot is going to be a similar process
where we're going to have to justify why we should
be considered disadvantaged and then be able to count. But
in the interim while they figure it out and tell
us at some point in.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
The future how to apply for that.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
They've said that any businesses who have a goal, those
companies will not have to reporting it's that goal.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
And so one of the challenges is if.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
You're not capturing the data, how do you then show
that there's been a disparity or that there's been discrimination.
If you don't have data, then what do you challenge?
So what the Council does is we say that we're
the corporate America's connector to minority business growth. Nice So
it's not about being a minority. We always say the
(24:23):
certification and designation as a minority business is sort of
the tail. What you lead with is here's what I do.
Here is what I have been able to perform. Here's
my capabilities and the capacity I have to do work.
And by the way, I happen to be a minority
or a woman owned business.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
Right, that's not the lead, it's the tail.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I love that HMSDC aims to move the needle in
unrealized potential.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
So what are the primary barriers and.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
Challenges that minority owned businesses face right now and winning
major contracts? I know the upcoming Business Expo is going
to help people get to those contracts. What are we
challenged with before that?
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Many of the challenges I always tell people to think
of minority owned businesses are small businesses.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
We are the driver of the economy.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Put a face on that business.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
So a small business, what a small business looks like
from a government perspective. It has a range based on
what you provide. So let's say, if you are a manufacturer,
you hire more people, so there's a different threshold for
you than if I'm an accounting firm where I can
do my work with one or two people. According to
the federal government, a small business can be anyone who's
(25:34):
generating under a couple one hundred million dollars in revenue. Right,
it's what we call the smaller mid tier companies. But
in the Council, what we see is we classify businesses
in the four classes based on their revenue. A Class
one has revenue under million dollars, so that could be
ten thousand dollars in revenue to a million. A Class
two has a million to ten million dollars in revenue,
(25:56):
A Class three is ten to fifty million, and a
Class force fifty and up. So if we look at
that as a sort of outlook of what Houston's business
community looks like. You'll see that the majority of those firms,
so about two thirds of our firms are in that
one to two category. One, of course is the largest,
and then we get a smaller percentage, like five percent
(26:19):
are in that class four that fifty million in up right,
So those are the rarities, and what we're trying to
do is move more businesses along that scale. So what
we've done with EXPO is to try to design opportunities
for all of them. What we've seen, and the pandemic
is a good example of it, is that when companies
begin to lay off because the economy slows down, a
(26:41):
lot of our folks end up starting ventures. Right if
they're not jobs. You got to feed your family, hobbies, hustles,
your hobby. You know what you did for that company
now becomes your career and you starting new entities. And
so at EXPO, we try to design it with something
for everybody. So on day one, our state agency spot
(27:04):
bitfair is free, so if you only want to come
to that, you can meet with state agencies who are
going to have contracts in hand. They're posted on a
site that you can access to prepare for where they
can award contracts ten thousand and under on a spot
or within two weeks of the expo.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
All right, slow down, because I saw that on the
Instagram page you can get contracts on site during the
business expo.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
What is that site?
Speaker 1 (27:29):
So I'm sorry, two sites on site at the expo,
but on the website you can pre prepare for.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
It, right, So you have to register.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
So if you go to HMSDC dot org www dot
HMSDC dot org at the very top, the first thing
you see is expo. You click on that, it'll take
you to the expo site and you say register and
you can register for the spot bidfair only, which is free,
and you can meet the state agencies on day one.
The rest of the conference, though, I think is important
(27:58):
for people to register and invest in themselves because if
you're going to be a business owner, you have to invest.
So we'll have government agencies from date and local who
will be there. We have fortune five hundred companies that
are going to be there. Think about it like if
you're going to the flea market, except it's reverse. So
usually when you go to the flea market, the people
who are in the booths are trying to sell you something.
(28:21):
Right at our expo, the people in the booths are
looking to buy from you. So the businesses walking the
aisles are the business owners, and the people in the
booth are saying, here are the opportunities we have for
small minority women owned business and their whole purpose is
to identify companies that they can incorporate into their supply chains.
(28:42):
We're going to be talking about financials. What type of
financing is available for businesses. If you're starting out, you
need to start out with the end in mind.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
How do you prepare for that?
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Are you looking to build a lifestyle business just to
maintain Are you looking to build a generational wealth business
where you're looking to pass something on to your children.
We'll have different financial institutions that'll be there. I believe
we're at like twelve right now. What we call traditional banks,
your JP Morgan Chases, your Amagies, your Bank of America's,
those type of banks. And then we have what's called CDFI's,
(29:15):
which are basically nonprofit banks. So when you can't get
lending from a traditional bank, you can go to a CDFI,
which is a nonprofit bank that lends to small businesses
who can't get traditional lending from an institution.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
And are there limits depending on what type of bank.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
It is, So they all have different limits, but it
could be anything from twenty thousand dollars loans to five
hundred thousand dollar loans okay. And so the CDFIs serve
as part of the stop gap for businesses so that
you don't have to go to necessarily factoring route. But
we're going to talk about what those different types of
lending are, how to go about figuring out what's the
(29:54):
right bank for you and what you need. Sometimes we'll
have businesses that will come to me and say I
need a business loan, and I'm like, no, what you
need is a line of credit. So part of what
we're going to be doing is help to educate on
the financial language so that you know what to go
in asking for.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yes, I love it, I love it.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Can you speak to business owners about what type of
capital to get win because every scenario doesn't call for
the same type of financing.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
I think that we often think that the only way
to get capital is by getting a loan, But you
can get investments through angel investors, you can have private
equity investors, and our organization can tap into those and
help you connect to those. I actually had a business
last week that called and said, I got a million
dollar order, but the timing I have to pay my
(30:39):
suppliers before I can process the order. So can you
help me identify someplace I have revenue but I don't
have that kind of capital just sitting around. Is there
something you can do or somebody you can connect me
to to help me get the capital to buy this
so I can fulfill this order knowing the money is coming.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
People always talk about scaling. Can you handle the scale?
Can I truly deliver?
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Also, do we understand what it takes to sustain secure
in the funding not only helps you grow the business, but.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Got to be sustaining. Yes, and so we believe.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
One of the things that I would tell businesses all
the time, and we'll talk about this some during the
conference as well, is you know you have to diversify,
which is why we have so many different industries there.
So think about how Houston has diversified over the years.
We used to just be oil and gas, right, and
so when the oil economy tank, it was it was
boom or bust, and then we began to diversify and
(31:34):
we started to have healthcare. Now we have the largest
healthcare system in the nation. So the good and the
bad of it is in Houston, we have I think
more resources than most major cities across this country for
small businesses. For example, the City of Houston just finished
its disparity study. There are programs that the city has
(31:58):
and they set goals. These or not quotas, These are
goals to have inclusion of minority and women on business
on city contracts.
Speaker 4 (32:06):
Dig into that a little deeper.
Speaker 5 (32:08):
So it's called a disparity study, and the City of
Houston has been doing it every five years or so.
Metro does one, the Port of Houston does one, Harris
County does one. I'm gonna tie this back to what
happens in DC. As part of the Supreme Court's decision,
they said, in order for you to set a goal,
whether it's college admission, supply chain buying stuff, you have
(32:31):
to show that there's a documented disparity that is the
reason driving those decisions, not just because you are a
minority a woman. The example I'm often given is if
you are Tyler Perry, are you a Oprah Winfrey? I
don't care what color you are. You are not despair.
You don't have a disparity. So what the Supreme Court
basically laid out was three principles. In order to do
(32:53):
a dispairit or to document a disparity, you have to
show that there's a disparity. They look at all the
available busines, businesses, small businesses, minority businesses in the territory
and says, how much money is the city of Houston,
is metro is the port, is the county spending the
school districts? Are you spending with minority and women owned
(33:15):
businesses as compared to their part of the population. So
if you were in construction and you had let's say
that minorities make up thirty percent of the construction businesses,
but you're only getting ten percent of the contracts, then
there's a disparity because there's thirty percent that you represented
the market, so you should be getting thirty percent of
(33:36):
the contract So there's a process that attorneys go through
in organizations where they will look at the spend and
look at what's being bought, and look at the availability
of those small businesses in those communities, and based on
that they will make a determination if there's a disparity
or not. You're an x percent of Houston's community and
(33:57):
a business community, you should be getting x percent of
those contracts.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
What if I'm a business owner, I don't have an
attorney that look at the spend. I don't know how
to go pull the data or what's available to me.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
They don't have to do it right, tell us I
have to do it.
Speaker 5 (34:12):
So if you go to let's say, for the City
of Houston, shout out to OBO. But the Office of
Business Opportunity is a division of the Mayor's office, and
that is the area that sets the goals for those contracts.
All you have to do is visit OBO and they
will be able to tell you. If you look at
(34:32):
the City of Houston, the Port, or any of these
government agencies, if you look at their published procurement opportunities,
you say, I want to bid on that, and it'll
tell you what the goal is. But if you're small
and you're starting out and you're like, I don't know
how to do business with a governmental entity.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
I need an entry point.
Speaker 5 (34:49):
These goals help you to get that entry point so
that you can get in the door.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Let me be an encourager right there, because I'm hearing
so much underneath what Ingrid is saying, like if you
are a business owner or have an idea to be
in business, get in this, and so.
Speaker 5 (35:01):
We're here to help to identify those resources, right, so
you don't have to try to figure it all out.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Yeah, that's what we do.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
So we're a nonprofit organization and we're connected to all
of these entities.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
So we are here to help you and guide you.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
Right.
Speaker 5 (35:16):
We've been around fifty two years. We know how it works,
and so we'll connect you to those resources.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
I'm excited.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
I always get excited when I feel like somebody's going
to get something out of this, move them to the
next level. I'm speaking again with the President and CEO
of the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council. If you're just
tuning in miss Ingrid Robinson. Just a reminder the HMSDC
Business expos coming up October fifteenth and sixteenth at the
ULH Event Center. We're going to talk more about the
(35:42):
sessions that are going to have available to you there,
but reminding people tap into networks.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Tap into networks.
Speaker 1 (35:48):
Now, Ingrid, beyond the expo, what's the most significant win
or success story you've seen recently, maybe a partnership that
proved the model of you know, supply diversity works.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
Like, give me an example of the proof is in
this putting right here.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Well, I'll give you two.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
So one, I would say from the corporate side, we
had a couple of years ago when we talked about
shifts happening. Our corporations are really good at helping us
to see where markets are moving. Okay, and so Baker
Hughes came to us and said, sustainability is becoming really
important to us, whether it's in our local communities or
(36:23):
it's in some of the international locations that we work in.
Small businesses, minority businesses are going to have to understand sustainability.
We were able to get a grant from Baker Hughes
to develop the first sustainability course curriculum that helps minority
businesses and small businesses understand the sustainability landscape. You know,
(36:44):
if somebody asked you what were your what scope emissions
are you? Are you scope one, Scope two, Scope three?
You're like, I don't know what that is, right, So
we teach you what that is. We teach you how
to calculate it because we want to start positioning businesses
for where you're going, not where you are to. We
also have another mbe Janay Johnson. So one of our corporations, Cisco,
(37:05):
contacted us and asked us for a company like hers
to do a project. It started out as a five
thousand dollars gig right. Since then they have done and
continued to work with her, and now they are a
million dollar client to her. Well, she started from a
five thousand dollars opportunity. She got in there, she did
(37:26):
her thing, they loved it. They continued to work with her,
and over the course of the last three years, she
has grown that business with that one company substantially to
move her to the next level.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I got to ask you, because there's a lot in
between five grand and the million dollar mark? How did
you guys support her along the way? Everything from the
introduction right. So part of what we do is be
in that connector saying here are firms for you to consider.
As she worked to grow her business with them, we
supported and continued to identify additional opportunities for her through
(37:59):
some of our training development that she might have needed
for that.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
So we've done it all for her.
Speaker 5 (38:04):
We were talking and she said, you know, I want
to share this success and I want to give back.
So that's one of the reasons why she's speaking at expo,
and we're.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Going to be talking. It'll be entrepreneur to entrepreneur to.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
Say, here's how I did it, yeah, and here are
the things that work.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
How long did it take her to go from five
grand to that million dollar mark?
Speaker 3 (38:24):
This was o of course, of like three to four years.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
And that's not a long time.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
It's not a long time, all right.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
People, that may be the motivation you need to attend
and hear these conversations.
Speaker 5 (38:32):
It's important for them to hear from entrepreneurs who have
done it. This is the stuff. If you're doing this today,
stop it right now. And if you're not doing these things,
start it right now.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
I love it, and we're going to start by joining
the HMSDC at their Business Expo October fifteenth and sixteenth.
Use them, work the council. They exist to serve your
need where you are and to grow, help you grow
to the next level ingrid. Lastly, just for those who
I may not have the fun to attend the expo,
there is a free portion at the beginning.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
Tell them there's a.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
Free portion at the beginning the State spot Bitfair, So
Senator Borce Miles sponsors our state State Agency spot Bidfair
where you can come for free on day one and
get access to those contracts. Like we said, the maxis
ten thousand dollars, but if you want to do business
with a state agency, being able to get a contract
for ten thousand dollars is a stepping stone to get
(39:28):
you in there. Remember, Jen, they started at a five
thousand dollars contract, So get in there, get in the door,
and then prove that you can continue to do business.
And if you'd like to participate in other parts, I
believe there might be a few volunteer.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Spots still left open. So if you.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
Want to volunteer right to help us work the expo,
then you can reach out to our office at seven
one three two seven one seven eight oh five or
send an email to info at HMSDC dot org and
somebody will reach out to you atn Gonzales who heads
the volunteers, and she can let you know what spots
we have left available. So you have to work I
(40:06):
believe it's four hours, and then you can attend the
rest of the expo for free.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Get what you need.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Thank you again to Ingrid, CEO of the Houston Minority
Supplier Development Council, Thank you so much. Give them the
website one last.
Speaker 5 (40:19):
Time www dot HMSDC dot org.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
All Right, people, these other resources available to you. We
are going to get to that next level together. Thank
you for being here on the Public Affairs Podcast.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
And if you know of a great conversation people or
opportunity that matters to our community in Houston and you
want to hear.
Speaker 4 (40:38):
About it, reach out.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
I'm Skytte Houston and we'll be talking again next week
on the Public Affairs Podcast
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