Four business professionals – ranging from a manager at Centene to an administrator at Metropolitan Sewer District – will be honored with Business Performance Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Business Networking and Awards luncheon.
The event will be held at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis Hotel in Clayton. The networking reception begins at 11 a.m. and the luncheon and program starts at noon.
Ramona Dickens: winning contracts
For the past 20 years, Ramona Dickens has been helping minority- and women-owned business enterprises win contracts with St. Louis giants, including Bank of America, Saint Louis University and Southwestern Bell (now AT&T).
And for the last eight years, Dickens has been responsible for the managing the M/WBE utilization initiative at Metropolitan Sewer District.
“Any time I can get a win – and what I refer to a win is when a woman or minority has won a contract – that makes my day,” Dickens said. “If I can have done something that was helpful to that person, that just makes it even better. Winning contracts is the end result in this endeavor.”
For the fiscal year 2011, the MSD’s expenditures for minority- and women-owned businesses made up more than 30 percent.
LaVicki Hart: senior VP in the community
LaVicki Hart is a senior vice president for Citibank’s retail operations in St. Charles County, and she’s responsible for the operating budget, performance management and capacity planning for over 2,000 staff in five states as well as offshore activities.
Not only does Hart have hefty responsibilities at work, but she also has a heavy hand in building opportunities for her community, particularly career-oriented young women.
She volunteers with the Citigroup Foundation (UNCF Fellows program), USC Alumni-college recruitment, Incarnate Word – Diversity initiative, Reach Out St. Louis, Covenant House, and Ladue School District CURE (Community Understanding Respect Education). She even has time to serve on the board of directors of numerous organizations: Mathews Dickey Boys & Girls Club (Executive & Finance), Professional Organization of Women (POW), Junior Achievement, and Marian Middle School.
Mark Smith: engineering openness
Mark L. Smith is the manager of corporate encounters for Centene Corporation, a $4 billion multi-line healthcare enterprise. He’s responsible for submitting healthcare claims to governments.
In his work, he said it takes a community of diverse perspectives to get the job done.
“Each person with their differences brings a certain level of critical thinking to how we solve business problems,” he said. “Proactively seeking out feedback is a mechanism to get a broad level of viable ideas.”
Last year, Smith participated in the yearlong fellowship with the St. Louis Minority Business Initiative. The program encourages strong leadership, particularly in the areas of diversity and inclusion. He brings this leadership toolbox to Centene everyday.
“It’s a lot easier for a person to have the courage to try if they are coming from a place of comfort,” Smith said.
Keith Spears: recovering diversity
Keith E. Spears is manager of business continuity services for Enterprise Holdings, Inc.
“Through my leadership as a manger, I portray the importance of diversity as paramount for my teams and company’s success,” he said.
For the past 10 years, he has been focused on recovering technology. At Enterprise, he is responsible for the development and execution of disaster recovery and business continuity planning company wide.
Spears is also a St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative Fellows Alumni.
“Diversity and inclusion creates access and opportunity for those who have generally not been represented in corporations,” he said. “Our customers are diverse and the makeup of our company should reflect that diversity.”
The 12th Annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon will be held Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at the Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, networking reception at 11 am, luncheon program at noon. Tickets are $100 for VIP/Preferred seating, $75 for general admission. Call 314-533-8000 for more information or to purchase tickets.
