“We are in a state of: improvement needed.”
That is Kelvin L. Simmons, commissioner of the Office of Administration for the State of Missouri, speaking on the status of minority business in Missouri.
Simmons will have much more to say on this important topic come Tuesday, November 10, when he will provide the keynote speech at the 10th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon, to be hosted at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton by the St. Louis American Foundation, the RCGA and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
Simmons said the substance of his speech would “crystallize” between now and the Nov. 10 event, based on “local, regional and national events,” but it’s unlike his general sense that much work remains to be done will change.
“If we were to come up with a score card for what the State might do to improve minority business in Missouri, the score card would be ‘incomplete,’” Simmons said.
As commissioner, Simmons oversees the eight divisions of the Office of Administration, which include: Accounting, Budget and Planning, Facilities Management & Design and Construction, Information Technology, General Services, Personnel, Purchasing, and Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity.
He is the highest-ranking African American in Missouri government, but prominent posts are not new to him. Three different Missouri governors have appointed him to five high-level appointments, and he has served in four governors’ administrations.
The late Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed him as a senior staff member and later named him as a commissioner on the Missouri Public Service Commission. Gov. Bob Holden appointed him chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission in 2001. Holden would also appoint Simmons to the cabinet post of director of Economic Development in 2003.
So Simmons knows what he is saying when he judges that this “incomplete” score for minority business inclusion has been in place for a long time.
“I’d say in some cases, the things we needed 20 years ago are things we still need today,” Simmons said: “access to capital, the ability to compete.”
He said he plans to bring to the podium fresh data about minority inclusion in Missouri and a sense of policy direction, drawn from his many years of experience dating back to a previous stint as director of Economic Development for Missouri. In that time, he said, he has seen “ebbs and flows” in the success of minority businesses in Missouri.
“Because of the economic downturn, we might be going down even further right now,” Simmons said.
Yet, he is conscious of coming to the metropolitan area where the largest African-American business is headquartered, David L. Steward’s World Wide Technology, Inc., and he plans to see some people in St. Louis who can help him move minority business ahead in the state.
“There are a variety of people in St. Louis with knowledge and a clear vision of where we need to go,” Simmons said, listing first James Webb of the St. Louis Minority Business Council.
Simmons also has strong roots in a city on the other side of the state that has something to teach the African-American community in St. Louis about progress through unity.
“In Kansas City, we have always had a political organization (Freedom, Inc.) that fostered political participation within the African-American community,” Simmons said.
He pointed out what is often noted by political observers – that Kansas City has done better at electing African Americans at a wide range of government positions than areas with a larger black voting population, including St. Louis.
“How have we been able to do that, when we are smaller? It goes to the fortitude of the organization: Freedom, Inc.,” Simmons said.
“We are not 100 percent united on all issues, we have a lot of disagreements, but the end result is we get together and elect people from our community to represent them.”
He said that political unity can lead to economic and cultural development.
“We have a sense of cohesiveness in our community and of getting things done,” Simmons said. “And our organizational structure has led to other things in terms of business and culture.”
With recent local political embarrassments in mind, Simmons has a message St. Louis may need to hear.
“We can’t continue with this crab-in-a-bucket syndrome, where we pull each other down,” Simmons said.
“Instead, we need to lift each other up. We need to work for the collective community – and rest your ego at the door.”
The 10th annual Salute to Excellence in Business Awards & Networking Luncheon will get started with a networking reception at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 10 at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, hosted by the St. Louis American Foundation, the RCGA and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. Tickets are $75 each for general seating, with table of 10 available for $750; or $100 for Preferred/VIP seating, with a table of 10 for $1,000. For tickets, call 314-533-8000 ext. 305 or email Rbritt@stlamerican.com.
