Shown at the Sept. 5 Palm Coast City Council meeting, left to right, first row: Pastor Jearlyn Dennie of Jearlyn Ministries, Councilwoman Theresa Carli Pontieri, Leslie Giscombe and Betsy Jimenez of AAEA. Second row, left to right: Vice Mayor Ed Danko, Mayor David Alfin and Councilwoman Cathy Heighter and Councilman Nick Klufas.
Taking her dialogue from a City of Palm Coast proclamation, City Council member Cathy Heighter encapsulated the initiatives of the African American Entrepreneurs Association (AAEA), raising awareness of its accomplishments and recognizing National Black Business Month.
Heighter was among the council members who awarded proclamations to community groups during the Sept. 5 meeting. The signatures of Mayor David Alfin and City Clerk Kaley Cook were affixed to each proclamation.
The AAEA’s proclamation was one of several that the organization received, cognizant of National Black Business Month, and conferred by the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners, the City of Bunnell, and the City of Daytona Beach.
Leslie Giscombe, AAEA founder and president, thanked the city council and, especially Mayor Alfin, for being intentional about creating an inclusive environment for all in the community.
“I also want to thank the people of Palm Coast…I was one of the young families that moved here back in ‘91,” Giscombe said.
Started in Flagler
He also was ecstatic to let everyone know that “our organization started here in 2016 and became a non-profit in 2018. But thanks to the governor at the time – now Senator [Rick] Scott – we are now in four states.
“It all started here in Flagler County,” asserted Giscombe, “and I am truly grateful to Flagler County for helping to build this initiative that we started and branched out to four or five different cities throughout the United States.”
As articulated in the mission statement, “The AAEA was formed to develop and create economic development through entrepreneurship within the underserved African American and minority communities, through education, mentoring, workshops, group economics, and microfinancing opportunities.”
The AAEA has provided the community with resources to becoming business savvy, has assisted minority businesses in getting approval for loans with the help of corporate sponsors, and has created economic development through governmental agencies, and colleges and universities.
National Black Business Month was created by Black entrepreneurs Frederick E. Jordan and William Templeton in 2004 to provide a platform for consumers to support Black businesses, provide for Black entrepreneurs to grow as part of the establishment and become empowered to accumulate wealth. National Black Business Month is celebrated annually in the month of August.