CARVING A NICHE : AWARDS HONOR INNOVATION.Byline: Maggie Jackson Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Yla Eason recalls the day 12 years ago when her 3-year-old son told her he could never be a superhero su·per·he·ro n. pl. su·per·he·roes A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime. . His action dolls were all white, and he was black. Six months later, Eason gave her son what he yearned for: a black superhero doll. But she had to do it the hard way. She created a company to produce some of the first ethnic dolls in the country. Today, Eason's company, Olmec Toys, has millions of dollars in sales, a sign that big retailers ignore the minority market at their fiscal peril. Moreover, Eason is one of a growing number of people in all manner of industries who realize that a social vision can go hand in hand with sound management and profits. She and four other entrepreneurs received the sixth annual Business Enterprise Awards on Tuesday, following a keynote address keynote address n. An opening address, as at a political convention, that outlines the issues to be considered. Also called keynote speech. Noun 1. by President Clinton. The awards are given by the Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. group founded by television producer Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American television writer and producer who produced such popular sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and . Other winners this year include: Donna Klein, the work-life director at Marriott hotels, for starting a resource hotline for lower-wage workers; McKay Nursery in Waterloo, Wis., for allowing migrant workers A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home.[] Although the United Nations' use of this term overlaps with 'foreign worker', the use of the term within the United States is more specific. to share in profits; Motorola Inc., for paying more than $160 million to train its work force; and Max De Pree of furniture maker Herman Miller Herman Miller may refer to:
In his speech, Clinton said, ``This country will never be what it could be if some people are beyond the message of Max De Pree, Motorola and others'' that all individuals can flourish. He urged the more than 300 business leaders at the awards ceremony to help hire welfare recipients, who will need jobs under the president's welfare reforms. ``You have to find a way to make it good business,'' he said. It isn't always easy to do the right thing, award winners agreed. When Eason started her toy company, she was told that African-Americans don't buy black dolls Black dolls are dark-skinned, inanimate representations of dark-skinned people. Representations--both stereotypical and accurate--fashioned into playthings, date back to the early 1800s. More accurate, mass produced depictions are today's playthings and adult collectibles. . Now, she can hardly go to another toy maker's showroom without seeing multicultural dolls. ``It gives me competitive pressure,'' she said. ``But we have proven we were right - there is definitely a market for these products.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Color) President Clinton recognizing winners of the Business Enterprise Awards (2--Color) Yla Eason founded Olmec Toys, which distributes ethnic dolls in response to the lack of minority dolls on the market. Associated Press |
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