More than 150 members of Montgomery County’s business community gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Gaithersburg on Thursday evening for a new program recognizing Black entrepreneurs.
The Black Business Council, a group of local entrepreneurs, organized the inaugural Black in Business awards this year in partnership with MBA Growth Partners of Rockville.
Tony Parchment, a member of the Black Business Council board and of the planning committee for Thursday’s event, remarked to the crowd on how much the landscape for Black businesses in the county has changed in just the past few years.
Five years ago, Parchment said, there was an informal network of Black business owners, but no organization dedicated to bringing them together. There was no database of Black-owned businesses in the county, and the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce did not have a full-time president.
Today, Parchment said, the Black in Business awards exist to highlight locals “who have shown real progress in the path in front of them, and who are building enterprises that will bring jobs, opportunities and wealth” to the Black community.
“We want others in the community to see what’s possible and be inspired by these examples,” he said.
Awards were presented on Thursday to five of the 15 finalists honored at the event. Categories included Best Hospitality, IT Solutions Excellence, Professional Services Trailblazer, Government Contractor Excellence and Best Consumer Products and Services.
To be eligible for an award, business owners had to be registered and listed in the MoCo Black Business Database. Their business had to be at least three years old and bring in at least $250,000 in annual revenue. Winners were selected by a panel of judges.
Here are the winners of the inaugural Black in Business awards:
Government Contractor Excellence Award
Michael J Charles, SolutionsMET
Charles is the CEO of SolutionsMET, a Bethesda-based IT management firm that contracts with federal agencies and commercial enterprises. Charles previously held senior roles at Capital One, CSRA Inc. and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Charles did not attend Thursday’s award ceremony because he was out of the country celebrating his wedding anniversary. In a pre-recorded video, he said there is “real excellence in this county” and thanked the event’s organizers for “shining a light on it.”
Professional Services Trailblazer Award
Hyacinth Tucker, The Laundry Basket LLC
Tucker is the founder and CEO of The Laundry Basket LLC – a mobile laundry and dry-cleaning delivery service that operates in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region; Atlanta, Georgia; Toronto, Canada; and Northeast Ohio.
In her acceptance speech, Tucker said she started her business three years ago as a stepping stone to her next opportunity. She said that changed when she met a single mom with three kids who was having to choose between “a good night’s sleep and cleaning clothes.”
“That’s when I realized, this is why I do what I do,” Tucker said.
Best Hospitality Award
Sharon Jackson Wilder, The Oaks Hospitality Group
Jackson Wilder is the co-founder and CEO of The Oaks Hospitality Group, which operates bed and breakfast locations in Bethesda, Cabin John and Annapolis. She co-founded the company with her husband, B. Quinton Wilder.
“My mom owned the first Black-owned beauty salon in Montgomery County,” Jackson Wilder said in her acceptance speech. “So for me to own the first Black-owned bed and breakfast in Montgomery County … I can’t even tell you the significance of that.”
IT Solutions Excellence Award
Melissa Daley, Orca Intelligence
Daley is the CEO of the Silver Spring-based company Orca Intelligence and the creator of Swiftly, an artificial intelligence tool that helps manage large-scale IT projects.
“Being a Black woman in IT is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life – primarily because I don’t look like I’m supposed to be here,” Daley said in her acceptance speech.
“When you invest in an organization like Orca Intelligence, you’re not only investing in what it is that I bring, or what we bring,” she continued. “You’re investing in all the great things that many Black women – Black people – are not able to see or achieve ever.”
Best Consumer Products & Services Company Award
Tiffany Nesfield, Nesfield Performance
Nesfield is the founder of Nesfield Performance, a personal training and wellness studio in Bethesda. She is also the president of the Nesfield Performance Foundation, which organizes the annual Metro Move Fest with the Metro Bethesda Rotary.
“I really feel like the dream is just starting,” Nesfield said in her acceptance speech. “It is truly a special moment to be standing here with other brilliant, resilient Black entrepreneurs.”
