Member Spotlight

Barbara Porter

Diversity Council President

The article below is Barbara Porter's address at the Diversity Council's 2006 Annual Meeting.

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ..."

For most of us that familiar passage from the Declaration of Independence has much meaning. Our founding fathers intended for that to be the case when they laid down the framework for this great nation that we all call our home.

At the Diversity Council, we believe that education is a way to empower people, improve their quality of life, and increase their capacity to participate in the decision-making processes that can lead to social, cultural and economic achievement.

It is our belief that in order for us to maximize the capacity of each person to positively impact the future of our region, our state and our country, the young, the old, the businessman the cleric, must all understand and recognize the need to be educated regarding our differences and more importantly our similar goals and dreams.

In our local community, the environment in which we live is a much more diverse one than it has ever been before. Nowhere is that more evident, than in our economic environment.

This growing diversity means that most of us now have clients, business associates, customers, coworkers and employees who look very different than they did 10 years, even 5 years ago. To say that cultural ignorance exists in many of our boardrooms and break rooms is not meant to be demeaning, but rather to reflect fact.

The best antidote for ignorance that I know is education. More and more we are learning that economic success comes not only from knowing how people bow, shake hands or dress, but how to insure fair treatment and quality business interactions on all levels.

In our economy today, it would be rare to stand in front of a group of associates and not see someone from another country, with a sexual orientation different from your own, disabled or of a different religious affiliation that the majority.

We need a whole new set of skills to survive in this era of economic globalization. I believe that companies that incorporate diversity into their core values will always win. Not only will they lower their risk of lost revenue, but they also gain a new set of strategies and a clear perspective of what is offered by individuals from across the human spectrum.

Commercial ventures are designed for one reason to make money to satisfy the shareholders. In the not for profit world, our motives are quite different. We exist for one reason, and we have a single goal—that goal being to change lives.

And that, my friends, is what we plan to continue to do—we do it one life at a time, and we do it sometimes, and we are not successful sometimes, but we never lose sight of our mission and our goal.

I take my role as your Chief Volunteer Officer very seriously and I am grateful for your confidence and your support. I invite you to continue to partner with us as we seek to change lives, and to ultimately transform and enhance our community!

1130 1/2 7th St NW, Suite 204 , Rochester, MN 55901 · Tel: 507.282.9951 · Fax: 507.282.9964 · info@diversitycouncil.org

Diversity...It's all about respect.