Charles County Economic Development Department announced today that Lucinia Mundy, business development specialist, will receive the Minority Business Advocacy Award at the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Fundraiser and Awards Gala on Friday, Dec. 8. The award is presented to individuals or organizations that have demonstrated significant accomplishments in advocating for minority business enterprises as an economic force. Other criteria used include the impact of volunteerism and collaboration made by the awardee to the minority business community and its stakeholders.
Mundy manages both the Minority Business and Small Local Business Enterprise programs for the Economic Development Department. Both programs were established by the Board of County Commissioners to increase small and minority business participation in county procurement and have helped set small and minority businesses apart in the marketplace. Since 2012, Mundy has met with more than 2,000 small and minority-owned businesses, of which 539 are registered with the small local business and minority business enterprise programs. Minority-owned businesses have also received more than $12 million in county contracts valued over $25,000, since 2012.
Mundy is a consistent and steadfast advocate of small and minority business development. She serves on numerous minority business boards and commissions. She has also worked at Prince George’s Community College, where she assisted small and minority-owned hotel and restaurant owners to hire qualified college graduated workers. She worked for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System where she encouraged member banks to help meet the credit needs of their minority business communities, and she served on former President Bill Clinton’s Federal Interagency Workgroup on Microenterprise Development. Also, in 2003, she created a private commercial retail and office space business incubator which allowed minority-owned businesses to co-share space, network, and test market their business ideas.
Charles County currently has 5,024 minority-owned businesses with or without paid employees, earning a total of $601,254,000 million in business revenue. The Economic Development Department team assists entrepreneurs and business owners in navigating and leveraging the many resources available to help them to grow.
“As the talent, dedication, determination, and vision of the minority businesses continue to grow, so will my hard work and passion to help support them,” said Mundy.
“The growth of small businesses in our community is certainly not accidental; it is the direct result of people like Lucinia and organizations joining forces,” said Lucretia Freeman-Buster, chief of business development.
To learn more about the EDD, visit www.MeetCharlesCounty.com. To learn more about the Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce and its Annual Fundraiser and Awards Gala, visit their website at www.smmcoc.org.