When hundreds of women gather in Fort Lauderdale next month for Florida’s Women in Energy Leadership Forum, Tampa Bay’s Lennise Germany and Angelica Torres will be among the empowering voices they hear. Strangers before the Tampa Bay Chamber’s Minority Empowerment Program (MEP) brought them together, the two women are now helping Florida Natural Gas tell the story of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in the energy industry.
“This is my first year, so I’m taking baby steps,” said Torres, who started the MEP program earlier this year and owns Wing Boys with her husband. Germany instantly jumping in to tell her “That’s okay! I got you girl!”
For the woman listening on the other side of this virtual interview, the dynamic interaction is just what she was hoping for. Lila Jaber is the podcaster and attorney who invited Germany and Torres to the interview in advance of the annual forum she created in 2015. The former Chair of the Florida Public Service Commission created the forum to highlight the leadership of women in the energy sector, motivating the next generation of workforce talent to join the industry. Of Palestinian heritage, Jaber is passionate about economic inclusion, access, and equality of opportunities – leveraging her nearly 30 years in energy, natural gas, water and telecommunications regulatory policy. The Chamber’s MEP is what brought these 3 Florida women together for this podcast.
“We’re hoping to inform the general audience about this wonderful program, Florida Natural Gas’ sponsorship of it, and your business,” explains Jaber. “I also have to say that I hope this will motivate EDC’s (economic development corporations) and chambers of commerce around the country to do something similar, if they’re not already doing so.”
Joining the podcast interview from Georgia was Chris Turner, Managing Director of B2B markets for SouthStar Energy Services in Florida – the parent company of Florida Natural Gas, which is the MEP sponsor for Wing Boys. “When we talked to the folks at the Tampa Bay Chamber we said, ‘We’d like to focus on a small business in hospitality or a restaurant.’ Wing Boys rose to the top when we were looking through the profiles because, while this is their first location, they’ve got big plans. They wrote about their goals and vision and just sounded like a lot of fun,” explained Turner. “This was our first time as a sponsor so we asked if we could have them! The Chamber paired us together and the rest is history.”
That’s music to the ears of Germany who’s the Chair of the Chamber’s MEP program helping minority business owners in the Tampa Bay region. “The Chamber holds sponsors and mentors to as great a responsibility as they do cohort participants,” explains Germany of the year long program that provides participants with a mentor, workshops and the networking benefits of a top tier Chamber membership. “It’s not just checking a box. There is criteria that the sponsor and mentor have to meet to even be considered. It’s a pairing process. They strategically plan out who’s a great fit for this person, for this company, so that it genuinely makes sense.”
“Florida Natural Gas has been in business in Tampa for 15 years and our focus has always been on small businesses,” explained Turner. “TECO/Peoples Gas provides the pipes that provides the gas into Wing Boys, but we are the gas in the pipe! The Chamber program is something that piqued our interest because of the broader initiatives within our company around diversity, equity and inclusion… for some people DE&I is just about checking a box but when we take something on, it’s put into the company’s DNA. It’s been part of who we are long before we called it that. We serve our communities and customers are at the center of everything we do. When we read about the minority empowerment program, we said this is it!”
A FNG delegation from Georgia travelled to Citrus Park for the Wing Boys grand opening and ribbon cutting in April, after months of set up work with Torres and her husband at the store location. They’re on a first name basis with their FNG liaison Kevin Lievsay and a few weeks ago gave a visiting Turner a taste of their latest recipe. “My personal favorite flavor is the hot-honey-teriyaki!’ says Turner on the podcast. “We’re up to 118 flavors,” says Torres. “People always ask us ‘How do you do it?’ 100 flavors, really?’ To be honest, my husband is the brains behind all the flavors!”
Jaber was quick to jump in and offer up a new spice for Wing Boys to try! “I’m Palestinian and we use a lot of sumac. So, when you’re ready, I can be your taste tester for that too,” she interjects with a hearty laugh.
In the few short months since joining the MEP program, Torres and her husband have learned about financing, the Small Business Administration (SBA), networking, and marketing – just to name a few. Local media outlets have also been drawn to the family’s story. Javier arrived in the U.S. from Cuba when he was 7 years old. The boy subjected to intense food rations in Cuba is now a restauranteur and aspiring franchisor. He calls Angela the wind beneath HIS wings. “We’ve gone places and had people tell me “Hey, you’re the girl on the news aren’t you!?’ That’s right! Wing Boys with over 100 flavors of wings! We started off with five employees and since the Chamber helped us get on TV, we now have seven employees. Mind you, the Chamber provided us with all this free marketing. It was such a blessing that we wouldn’t have had otherwise! I got so many phone calls from family, friends who say Oh my God, I saw you on the news!”
Access and equality, not celebrity, are the true gifts of the MEP experience, explains Torres on the podcast. Germany, a business owner herself, founder of Livy O’s catering, says the mindset developed by the MEP program is the game-changer. “You’re not just one customer away from your next big break. Even when you get whoever you think that next big customer is, there’s another and another. If you limit yourself to being the service provider, that’s all you’ll ever be seen as. That’s all you’ll ever feel that you are,” said Germany. “It’s not just about the customers, it’s about the relationships. You get the relationships outside the day-to-day hustle and bustle of being the chef, the cashier, the delivery driver, of being all those things.”
“They’ve made us feel like we can really accomplish our dream,” says Torres of MEP. “Sometimes, as a small business owner you have self-doubt. Am I going to be the next ‘Chick-fil-A’ because that’s what I’m aiming for! And they make you feel like ‘Hey, you’ll get there. We’ll help you. You got this girl!’”
Without missing a beat, Wing Boys’ MEP sponsor provides further back-up. “There’s one thing you need to understand Angelica,” said Turner. “You have every right to be in that room of business leaders. You are as smart, as talented and as capable as anyone else in the room!”
To hear the full podcast interview, click here.
Florida Natural Gas is one of eleven companies sponsoring the Tampa Bay Chamber’s Minority Empowerment Program in 2023. They include: AT&T, Amgen, Bank of America, Bush Ross, Corey Thomas, Julian Waits, Moffitt Cancer Center, Regions Bank, Tampa Bay Food Trucks and Whiting-Turner. Read more details on the MEP program, here.
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