We participate in many conferences so we can continue to learn more about our communities and contribute to the discussions about the issues they address. From each event, we take what we learn and share it across GM. You can see this in action from some of the conferences we’ve been a part of and awards we’ve been honored to receive this year.

This year, Cadillac sponsored, for the first time, the 2012 BET Awards and the exclusive PRE Dinner, which was hosted by Black Entertainment Television CEO, Debra Lee.

According to the Nielsen Company, the BET Awards is one of the most watched award shows on cable television and is cited as being the number one program in cable television history among African-Americans. Samuel L. Jackson hosted this year's awards ceremony, which included stellar performances from A-list entertainers such as Chris Brown, Usher, Mariah Carey and the legendary Chaka Khan.

The morning prior to the awards show, Don Butler, Vice President Cadillac Marketing, hosted “Cadillac Conversations”, an intimate discussion that highlighted Cadillac’s commitment to the African American community as well as the brand’s newly launched models.

Guests of the BET PRE Dinner had the opportunity to experience the Cadillac XTS first hand as well as meet Don Butler, as he spoke to the dinner attendees passionately about the Cadillac brand. Cadillac was also the title sponsor of the Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to the iconic R&B soul group, Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly.

When presenting the award, Butler said, “Cadillac is pleased to partner with BET for the 2012 BET Awards. Congratulations to BET on another successful show and to Frankie Beverly and Maze for receiving the Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award.”

This year, GM Diversity sponsored the American Association of Physicians from India (AAPI) National Convention, held in Long Beach, Ca. Statistics show that physicians earn, on average, four times more than the national average income and therefore are the desired target demographic for luxury brand vehicles. For this reason, General Motors felt that this convention provided the right target customer base to showcase the newly launched Cadillac XTS. The convention was held between June 28th and July 1st.

Senior Manager Corporate Diversity, Dave Freeman and chairman of the Asian Indian Affinity Group (AIAG), Tushar Wani, identified this as an opportunity for GM to network with potential customers as a part of their community outreach and product promotion efforts.

West Coast Cadillac Marketing Manager, Sam Prabakaran, saw great potential in sponsoring this convention and helped with execution by providing the necessary logistical support. GM displayed the Cadillac XTS, and leveraged the convention as an opportunity to communicate GM’s continued leadership in safety related technologies. Global Vehicle Performance Owner, Margaret Andreen, spoke about GM’s research in safety development and some of the unique safety features of the Cadillac XTS. Additionally, AIAG Chairman Wani congratulated the organizers for successfully hosting their 30th national convention and emphasized GM’s commitment to community outreach. Most of the attendees owned multiple luxury vehicles and were genuinely looking for a new luxury sedan. Many even took the opportunity to physically experience all of the features of the car and were quite intrigued by the advanced technology of the XTS, as well as the price at which it is offered.

Excitement, anticipation and pride filled the room at the world’s largest sit-down dinner in Detroit. Over 10,000 attendees joined the Detroit Branch NAACP for the 57th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner to celebrate 100 years of fighting for justice for all Americans. The dinner, appropriately themed “Celebrating a Century” was keynoted by United States Attorney General, Eric Holder.

General Motors has a long-standing relationship with the NAACP national organization and a strong partnership with the Detroit Branch NAACP. For years, GM has been a major supporter of the NAACP Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner.

Mark L. Reuss, President, GM North America, provided remarks during the dinner and served as a General Chair on the Centennial Celebration Committee for the event.

“I’d like to extend my congratulations and best wishes to the Detroit Branch of the NAACP on the happy occasion of its 100th birthday. All of us at GM are extremely proud of the work your organization has done, and we’re thrilled to be able to continue our longstanding support,” said Reuss. “I couldn’t be more proud to work for a company that is ready, willing, and able to provide help here, where help is needed. And I couldn’t be happier to participate in the 57th annual Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner.”

The Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner raises a one million dollar goal as a means of showing national hope and determination among black Americans. During the event, the Detroit Branch honored Rachel Maddow, Host of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, with the Freedom and Justice Award for her remarkable contributions to social justice.

Other notables seated on the Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner dais included: Detroit Branch NAACP President, Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony; Donnell White, Detroit Branch NAACP Executive Director; Eric Peterson, GM, Vice President of Corporate Diversity; Vivian Pickard, President, GM Foundation and GM Director of Corporate Relations; Rep. John Conyers Jr.; Rep. Hansen Clarke; Sen. Carl Levin; Sen. Debbie Stabenow; and City of Detroit Mayor, Dave Bing; and Cloves Campbell, Chairman, National Newspaper Publishers Association and Publisher, the Arizona Informant.

Chevrolet was the official automotive sponsor of Hispanicize 2012, the annual Latino conference for the nation’s top Latino bloggers, influencers, and media professionals held from April 10-13, in Miami, Florida.

Alma L. Guajardo-Crossley, Director of Diversity Initiatives at General Motors, participated as a panelist in the First Annual Champions of Corporate Diversity Lunch. Alma talked about the company’s ongoing commitment to Hispanics and discussed key diversity initiatives planned for the year.

While at the conference, Araba Dowell and Stephanie Camargo Ruiz from the Southeast Region Communications team presented the award-winning #ChevyCrawls campaign. During the session, they discussed how Chevrolet leveraged social media to introduce a new lineup of vehicles to South Florida and interact with local key influencers. #ChevyCrawls received the 2011 Digital PR Campaign award at the PR News Digital PR Awards and created outstanding results for the brand.

Hispanicize attendees had the opportunity to participate inThe Chevrolet Landmark Tour, a tour that showcased Miami landmarks and points of interest for the Latino community, such as the Freedom Tower, the Cuban Memorial Plaza, and the famous Cuban restaurant, Café Versailles. Participants had the opportunity to ride in Chevrolet vehicles while taking the tour.

GMC was proud to be the Official Vehicle Sponsor of the Hispanic Heritage National Youth Awards, which took place in Miami on March 1.  The awards were presented by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), a national non-profit which prepares and positions Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce.  

Since 1998, the Hispanic Heritage National Youth Awards have honored students who demonstrate leadership potential in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields and in the "Green Industry". This year, seven Latina/o students were recognized at Bongos Cuban Café, in the presence of GM's Diversity Initiatives Director Alma Guajardo-Crossley, and Diversity Initiatives Manager Julie Xiong.  

GM Southeast Region District Sales Manager Dan Weishaar was also at the event, along with Brickell Motors President & CEO Mario Murgado, and Vera Buick GMC General Sales Manager Jorge Morales.

As the "Official Car" of the awards, GMC provided three courtesy vehicles to HHF, one of which was used to transport current "Dancing With the Stars" contestant William Levy to and from Bongos.    

HHF also presents the Hispanic Heritage awards, founded in 1987 as part of the first Hispanic Heritage Month. The awards honor the contributions of Latinas/os in the arts, education, leadership, literature, math, science and sports, with recipients including Rita Moreno, Gloria Estefan, Bill Richardson, Sammy Sosa and Oscar de la Renta.

General Motors’ own Alma Guajardo-Crossley, GM's Director of Diversity Initiatives, received the “Corporate Visionary Award” at the 30th National Conference of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI). GM recently announced a partnership with USHLI which included donation of a 2012 Buick Verano, which will be used to raise funds for USHLI scholarships for Hispanic high schools and college students. Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., USHLI president, praised GM’s dedication to diversity and inclusion, and for its long history of commitment to the Latino community.

The NAACP Image Awards are an annual celebration of artistic contributions to the promotion of social justice and honors people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film.  A longtime supporter of the NAACP’s important work, Cadillac sponsored the 43rd annual Image Awards, held on Feb. 17 in Los Angeles.

Dwayne Ferguson, Operations Manager of Jacksonville, Florida’s Cadillac Saab of Orange Park said the Image Awards presented a “perfect backdrop” for GM to reiterate its commitment to diversity and the African American community, while Eric Peterson, GM Vice President of Diversity Peterson, praised the NAACP for “more than a century” of significant contributions to social justice.  

More than 400 Hispanic bloggers, social media professionals and influencers, gathered for the second annual Hispanicize Conference in Los Angeles, sponsored by Buick and OnStar.

Chevrolet was a silver-level sponsor and a sponsor of the VIP Post Party at the 2011 National Council of La Raza ALMA Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. The ALMA Awards celebrate the pioneering spirit of Latinos in the film, television and music industries. Eric Peterson, U.S. Vice President of Diversity, accepted the sponsor recognition trophy during pre-taping of the ceremony.

GM was chosen as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity from more than 1,000 corporations in the categories of Employee Base, Senior Management, Board of Directors and Supplier Diversity.  Our award, along with GM employee Sabin Blake, dealer organization manager for the Northeast Region, was featured on the cover and in a feature story in the July 2011 edition of Black Enterprise.

For the fifth straight year, we achieved a perfect score of 100 percent in the 2011 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The annual survey, now in its ninth year, measures a company’s treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and consumers.

GM has been a longtime sponsor of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc., and participated, along with Cadillac, in the 25thAnnual Conference in San Francisco. Eric Peterson, U.S. Vice President of Diversity, and Vivian Pickard, president of the GM Foundation, represented the company and accepted the organization’s Legacy Award in recognition of our continued support of the community.

GM and the GM Supplier Diversity Program were recognized at the Million Dollar Awards for investing more than $1 million with Hispanic-owned suppliers. Alma Guajardo Crossley, GM director, Diversity Initiatives, accepted the award on behalf of GM Supplier Diversity. Each year the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) hosts its National Convention and Business Expo featuring hundreds of exhibitors from the U.S. and abroad.

Buick participated as a Platinum Sponsor at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities' (HACU) 25th Annual Conference in San Antonio. Alma Guajardo Crossley, Diversity Initiatives Director, spoke on behalf of GM and showed a video showcasing all GM brands to attendees during a lunch session.

Chevrolet sponsored the 26th National Hispanic Women’s Corporation Professional Development and Leadership Institutes Conference, which took place in Phoenix, as well as the Youth Track & Fashion Show. GM's Director of Diversity Initiatives, Alma Guajardo Crossley, spoke at one of the youth track workshops about the importance of staying in school and staying focused and motivated in life.