ACI-NA Honors Business Diversity with the 2016 Inclusion Champion Awards

April 5, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2016

 

ORLANDO, FL − Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) today announced the recipients of the 2016 ACI-NA Inclusion Champion Awards during an awards gala dinner at the ACI-NA Business of Airports Conference in Orlando, FL, which was attended by nearly 500 commercial management, human resource, and finance executives from the North American airport industry. This year’s Inclusion Champion Award winners are Miami-Dade Aviation Department, Indianapolis Airport Authority, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, and MarketPlace Development.

“The Inclusion Champion Awards celebrate exceptional achievement in promoting and sustaining diversity throughout the airport industry’s workforce,” said Kevin M. Burke, ACI-NA President and CEO. “Diversity is good business and we are proud to recognize our airport and associate members who are committed to promoting inclusion.”

Large Hub Inclusion Champion: Miami-Dade Aviation Department

Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s (MDAD) ensures that local women- and minority-owned small businesses are aware of its contracting opportunities through a number of federal and local initiatives, including: the Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program; the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program for construction and design contractors; the Local Developing Business program for airline service contracts; the Small Local Car Rental program for car rental concessions; and the Department’s Maintenance Contractor Program.  To encourage small business participation, MDAD hosted 61 outreach events in fiscal year 2015 and includes a small business participation provision and Affirmative Action Plan articles in all airport concession and construction contracts. As a result of MDAD’s efforts, small businesses accounted for $202.7 million, or 17.1 percent, of its $1.1 billion in contracts in FY 2015. In addition, MDAD’s inclusive and diverse workforce is reflected in its leadership team as well as throughout the Department’s 1,225-employee workforce.

Medium Hub Inclusion Champion: Indianapolis Airport Authority

The Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) is deeply committed to fostering meaningful opportunities and increasing participation of Disadvantaged, Minority, Women or Veteran Business Enterprises (DMWVBE) by facilitating participation of diverse suppliers in procurement opportunities. The IAA continues to focus on hiring diverse leadership and to seek more diversity in hires throughout the organization. To date, more than 50 percent of the IAA’s senior leadership is made up of women or racial minorities. Nearly 35 percent of IAA professional staff is made up of women or racial minorities. The IAA continues to attract diverse talent by participating in informational and educational events at several career fairs. To foster employee engagement in the aviation industry, the organization identifies high-performers through constant employee-manager feedback, annual performance reviews, and a quarterly recognition program.

Small Hub Inclusion Champion: Jackson Municipal Airport Authority

The Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) has formed its policies and procedures to actively encourage, support and mentor small and disadvantage business. To ensure the whole community is engaged in their business practices, JMAA hosts public meetings to announce new business plans. Similarly, JMMAA’s Workforce Inclusion Program recognized the value of total diversity in the workplace and has made it a priority to recruit and hire key personnel from a diverse pool of qualified candidates. The JMMAA’s Leadership in Aviation Excellence Program is designed to prepare the authority’s employees for the next step in their aviation career. Through this program, eighteen leaders have joined the organization’s diverse leadership team. In addition, JMMAA supports future aviation professionals in their community through their internship program.

Associate Inclusion Champion: MarketPlace Development

MarketPlace Development (MarketPlace) has a strong commitment to the inclusion of businesses that represent the diversity in the regions where they do business. The company’s aggressive approach to ensure the participation of small, local and diverse businesses has resulted in inclusion of their operations at Philadelphia International Airport, LaGuardia Airport Terminal B, Ronald Reagan National Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.  MarketPlace’s commitment includes strong minority participation in the ownership and management structure, with 60 percent of the corporate leadership being female and 40 percent minority. In order to continue to succeed in nurturing a diverse workplace, MarketPlace assists their merchants by coordinating job fairs, often in conjunction with local colleges and community organizations. In 2015, over 3,326 people attended the job fairs at PHL, DCA and IAD that the company supported.

 

About ACI-NA

Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) represents local, regional, and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports support more than 11.5 million jobs and account for $1.4 trillion in economic activity – or more than seven percent of the total U.S. GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP. Learn more at www.airportscouncil.org.