TAAACC, Huston-Tillotson Make History with TAAACC Policy Breakfast Launch
Monday Jun, 06 2016
(AUSTIN) 6.6.16 — The Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce (TAAACC) and Huston-Tillotson University recently joined forces to create and host the TAAACC Policy Breakfast series. Designed to broaden understanding of the development of public policy, especially those policies that regulate key Texas industries, the breakfast series focuses on Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Telecom/Tech, and Transportation.
“Given the success of our inaugural breakfast, focused on Texas’ Energy sector, we are certain that our Policy Breakfast series is the right forum at the right time,” said TAAACC Chairman Christopher Herring. “The presence of chamber leaders from across the state, leaders in Texas’ utility sector, lobbyists, and key supporters of our efforts to improve opportunities for Black-owned businesses on the campus of Huston-Tillotson affirms our belief in this much-needed program.”
The Energy Industry Policy Breakfast was supported by leaders in the Texas utility sector, including: Energy Future Holdings, TXU Energy, Luminant, CenterPoint Energy and CPS Energy. Gregory Knight, Sr. Vice President of CenterPoint provided keynote remarks for this historic opening session.
Huston-Tillotson University President/CEO Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette noted in her remarks that “…the opportunities for our partnership are boundless… Huston-Tillotson is committed to enriching the lives of those we serve and the TAAACC Policy Breakfast series both widens our circle of influence and solidifies the role of HBCUs in solving the challenges that face our community.”
The next Policy Breakfast is scheduled for Thursday, July 21, 2016, also on the HT campus. John Scroggins, President of Unity National Bank, will lead the discussion in the upcoming Financial Services (banking and insurance) breakfast.
“We are absolutely elated at the support of our first policy breakfast,” said TAAACC President Charles O’Neal. “The energy in the room made it clear that there is broad support for a larger role for Black Texans in the policy-making process. There is no question that over three million Black Texans and the quarter-million businesses we own play a significant role in the economic viability of our state. Our commitment is to ensure that these stakeholders voices are heard.”
For more information about the TAAACC Policy Breakfast series visit www.taaacc.org.
